Alexis de Tocqueville Society

Lowell Andreas was a philanthropist and a long-time contributor to United Way. His commitment to the community, particularly his passion for youth and education, was reflected in his generosity as the Greater Mankato Area United Way’s largest donor to date. Lowell joined his wife Nadine when he passed away in 2009 at the age of 87, but their legacy will continue to impact lives in the greater Mankato area.

Denny and Carole Dotson are longtime residents of Mankato and have enjoyed watching the community become a regional center. They have been supportive of community efforts that have evolved to handle the needs of an expanding diverse population, especially those that touch the lives of children.

As former owners of Katolight Corporation (now Rolls-Royce Solutions America), Lyle and Kay Jacobson were longtime supporters of United Way. Their history includes conducting successful employee campaigns, giving personally, giving through their business and giving through their donor advised fund of the Mankato Area Foundation. In addition to supporting United Way, Lyle and Kay gave additional support to many of the United Way agencies. Their philanthropic areas of emphasis were youth activities, education, the arts and humanitarian organizations. Overall they had a keen interest in enhancing the quality of life in the Mankato area helping to make it an attractive community for employee retention and recruitment and helping make it a community that provides opportunities for healthy family lives. Sadly, Lyle passed away in 2020, and Kay passed away in 2022. Their legacy of giving through United Way continues through their daughters.

The Olseth Family Foundation is working to improve the community through support of arts, education, the environment and the underserved. In 2017, the foundation’s passion for literacy and equal access to books led to Greater Mankato Area United Way’s Fourth–Grade Book Project, which provides a Shel Silverstein poetry book to every fourth-grader in the region. The Olseth Family Foundation supports many other community initiatives, including the BackPack Food Program, Echo Food Shelf, CADA House, VINE Faith in Action, Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, and the Recharge Mankato initiative in partnership with the Mankato Area Foundation and Minnesota State University, Mankato

This gift is in memory of Weston (Megan) Elizabeth Scheel with the hopes that everyone finds happiness and their place in this world. We encourage everyone to show respect and understanding to those who are different than you... just like West did.

Bill Anderson & Robin Wingo are both social workers who are now retired professors from the Department of Social Work at MNSU, Mankato. They are especially concerned about the financing of area non-profit agencies during these challenging times, and have supported a variety of agencies such as CADA, ECHO, MVAC, Planned Parenthood and of course the United Way. One of their greatest pleasures is seeing the amazing work done by former students at many of the agencies in the region and across the country.

Heidi Boyum grew up in North Mankato, Minnesota, and currently lives north of St. Peter with her 10-year-old son Mitchell and two Standard Poodles Coach and Tessa. As owner/president of Jarraff Industries Inc, Heidi participated in fundraising efforts and donated to a variety of community agencies, including Greater Mankato Area United Way, CADA, St. Peter Food Shelf, Mankato Area Foundation, and Echo Food Shelf. After selling Jarraff Industries in 2021, Heidi continues to donate to many deserving nonprofits. She is committed to Greater Mankato Area United Way's three pillars of basic needs, health and education.

Scott and Dawn Bradley moved to the Mankato area in 2010 and began their involvement with Greater Mankato Area United Way as a way to give back to the community and support the programs that are so critical to the area. As donors, they value the yearly evaluations of the partner agencies and the mentoring that United Way does with the partner agencies to ensure that donor dollars are invested to efficiently support the programs, making United Way the perfect vehicle to distribute donor funds.

Jean and Tim Bye believe that everyone has a role to play in creating a better world - and specifically they have a passion for having an impact on the lives of children in the Mankato area. Supporting the United Way is an important step to make that tangible difference in the lives of others.

Tim grew up just outside Mankato on his family’s farm and is active in the community both here in Mankato and across the Twin Cities. His involvement with United Way started more than 20 years ago through the workplace giving program at General Mills where he led the New Hire & Emerging Leader Campaigns. That engagement with the Emerging Leaders program provided him a hands-on understanding of some of the critical needs in the community, allowed him to build connections across organizations, and see the amazing impact United Way has on our communities. Tim continues to volunteer and support the community through various nonprofits as he splits his time between the Twin Cities and Mankato.

Nick and Kaitlyn Kaus have been active in Greater Mankato Area United Way for several years. They both believe that giving back to the community provides invaluable opportunities in improving mental health, education and overall quality of life. Their goal is to promote awareness of the value in donating to Greater Mankato Area United Way for generations to come.

Having lived in southern Minnesota their whole lives, David and Carolyn care deeply about the communities in the greater Mankato area. They share Pioneer Bank’s commitment to making those communities better places to live, work and play for the families who make this area their home. Their children and grandchildren all benefit from the quality of life our region is known for—made better because of United Way.

Marley and Judi are very thankful for the opportunity to have raised their family in Mankato for over 60 years. They believe it is their responsibility to provide help and financial assistance to worthy organizations. The United Way is at the top of their list.

College sweethearts Doug and Laurie Opheim married shortly after graduation. Their professional careers started at one of the Taylor companies. This is also where they first learned how they could be part of the good works by United Way. Young and just starting out, there were not a lot of extra dollars, but seeing how impactful even their smallest donation could be helped them become annual donors. Doug and Laurie have a great belief in Greater Mankato Area United Way's holistic thought process that to truly help, you need to support those seeking help in multiple areas and not just one.

Phil and Margie Slingsby feel strongly about supporting United Way because it reaches so many people in the Mankato area. There are many excellent non-profit groups and every year, United Way evaluates the needs of the citizens of the Mankato area and distributes the funds accordingly. Phil worked with the United Way campaign at Scheels for many years. As a retired Scheels manager, he saw how the corporation supports its communities, and Phil and Margie have been following its example of giving back to the community through United Way

Scott and Valerie Smits moved to Mankato in 2018 with a passionate desire to serve both their community and the world. Over the last six years, they have been able to get to know Barb Kaus and United Way and the wonderful work that they do in the Mankato community. Scott and Valerie say God has blessed them with both the ability to give and a heart to give generously to the community in which they live.

Having lived in Mankato for almost 30 years, the Sneers have witnessed many positive changes taking place in the surrounding area. The difference United Way and the non-profit organizations makes in the quality of people’s lives is important, especially those that touch the lives of children.

Stuart, Ann and the United Prairie Bank team have been long-time supporters of Greater Mankato Area United Way and are proud to continue serving the community in giving, volunteering and other aspects.

Longtime Mankato resident Todd Snell is an integral part of the Greater Mankato community, from owner of Snell Companies to active member of various nonprofit organizations. Snell Companies, including Snell Motors and Snell Auto Wash, has created job opportunities and additional traffic in Mankato, supporting the regional hub and overall development of the area. Throughout the business growth, Todd has kept the Mankato community a priority. Todd chaired United Way’s successful 2016 campaign as part of the United Way board and continues to support the work of Greater Mankato Area United Way.

Garrett and Anastacia Steinberg are proud members of the Mankato community. Garrett owns and manages two businesses in the area: he creates custom furniture for Mankato Woodworks, and he cleans commercially for GClean. Garrett loves the work he does with his businesses but keeps musical outlets in his life through playing church services at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center and Christ the King Lutheran Church. He also has a band, Neon-Live, which delivers a variety of entertaining music including tribute shows for Elton John, Abba and Jimmy Buffet. Anastacia works for Mayo Clinic in their Cardiology appointment office while she works toward her Masters in Clinical Psychology. Anastacia published her first children’s book, My Little Alien, in 2022 and has the second book in the series, Alien Landing, coming out Summer 2024. Anastacia has performed for musicals in the area with the Mankato Playhouse, and she enjoys singing for church services and events with Garrett. Garrett and Anastacia adore spending time in their home with their daughter, Cecilia, and their sometimes-naughty dog and cat, Marshall and Beethoven. Garrett and Anastacia are grateful to contribute to United Way and be a part of the beautiful work being done for our community.

As a Board Member from 1976–1978 and Campaign Chair in 1980, Glen Taylor has been an avid supporter of our United Way. Members of the Heart Club since its inception in 1990, Glen and Becky Taylor joined the United Way Tocqueville Society in 2009.

In addition to supporting United Way, Glen and Becky have been involved in various organizations in the community and are generous supporters of several area non-profits.

Steve VanRoekel is committed to making life better for others in our community. He embodies what it means to LIVE UNITED by giving generously of his time, talent and treasure to Greater Mankato Area United Way and numerous other nonprofit organizations with a passion to improve the lives of all individuals and families in our community. In 2022, Steve was a member of the Greater Twin Cities United Way Tocqueville Society and now serves on their Tocqueville Cabinet. Greater Mankato Area United Way has been fortunate to count Steve as an integral part of our volunteer leadership team for several years, including serving as past Campaign and Board Chair.

Though not born and bred in Mankato, Steve and Beth Weisbecker have a deep, deep love for this city and the area. Since becoming a United Way “loaned executive” back in the late ’70s, Steve has seen first-hand what amazing work the various agencies do for our region. United Way has been and will be their number one charity for giving.

Steve also believes it is his honor and responsibility to demonstrate to his Lloyd Management employees how important it is to give back to Greater Area Mankato United Way and their community. The Lloyd Management team is proud of their year-in and year-out giving record!

Buster and Nina West have lived in this area for over 50 years. Buster is a financial advisor and Nina is a retired St. Peter educator. Buster is a past chair for the United Way of St. Peter. They became committed to United Way at that time. The proactive effort by Greater Mankato Area United Way is a great addition to the traditional method of waiting for requests.

Ashley Winkelman & Caesar Larson firmly believe in investing in our rural communities in the Mankato area. As business managers in the agriculture industry, they see great value in providing suicide prevention resources and mental health support to our local farmers and farm families. They have worked with the Greater Mankato Area United Way campaign throughout their careers and continue to give back by participating in the Grow United Committee. Grow United is a Greater Mankato Area United Way initiative for farmers and farm families that aims to keep rural, agriculture, and farming community members connected to the United Way mission of improving lives. Taking an active role in this committee allows them the opportunity to make our community a healthy, vibrant place to live and work.