WAUPUN — The Waupun Hockey Association received $150,000 in a sponsorship from the National Exchange Bank Foundation Friday morning.
The sponsorship funds will go towards the replacement of the hockey rink floor in the Waupun Community Center, as most of the floor has not been replaced since the building was constructed over 40 years ago.
This donation comes as part of a campaign by the Waupun Hockey Association to raise funds which they began last year after the City of Waupun announced they had received $1.17 million in ARPA funds following the economic downturn of the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Just last month the Hockey Association approached the City Council to make another case for receiving a portion of the ARPA fund, stating that City backing could bolster confidence in potential business sponsors, including National Exchange Bank and Trust.
The Waupun Hockey Association reached out to a number of local businesses for sponsorships, and managed to secure a large sponsorship from the foundation wing of the National Exchange Bank and Trust (NEBAT).
“The National Exchange Bank Foundation is proud to help support the communities where National Exchange Bank has offices,” said Karri Oelke, who serves as marketing coordinator for NEBAT.
While the National Exchange Bank and Trust plays a large role in Waupun, the National Exchange Bank Foundation is a separate organization that serves as a philanthropic fund for community projects.
“The Bank does feed into the Foundation, and a lot of times the Foundation helps with large community projects that those funds are earmarked for, but they’re two separate entities,” Oelke added.
National Exchange Bank and Trust President and CEO Eric Stone was in attendance for the presentation of the check.
“We started the foundation about twenty years ago, that way it was set up separately from the bank and we give away in total close to three million dollars a year,” Stone said.
Stone explained that the Foundation draws from investment stocks that started about 35 years ago, when Eric Stone’s father invested in the growing Apple company and never sold.
“We use that to fund the foundation, and we’ve diversified it a little bit with some other gifts,” Stone said.
“It’s been fortunate for us and fortunate for the community,” Stone added.
According to Stone, the NEBAT Foundation typically invests in local youth projects in the communities with branch locations. They have offices across southeast Wisconsin centered around Fond du Lac, with locations as far as Coloma, Chilton, Sheboygan Falls, and Waukesha. They also have a location in downtown Waupun, right across from City Hall.
“NEBAT is a huge supporter of Waupun Hockey and we’re very grateful for their donation, and I know this is going to draw in other donors with their substantial donation to us,” Hockey Association president Lucas Dawson said. “There’s not enough words that I can say to show my appreciation and gratitude to them.”
Hockey Association vice president Tyler Loomans also gave a short update about the construction plans.
“This project is happening in the spring of ‘25, so fingers crossed—praying to The Man Upstairs—that we can get through two seasons,” Tyler Loomans said. “Between RinkTech’s waitlist and our having to raise 800,000 dollars on our own, that’s where we have to schedule it. But it is scheduled, the downpayment is down, so it’s exciting.”
The Waupun Community Center also serves as an event hall for local festivals including Celebrate Waupun, Truck-n-Show, and Volksfest.
