The incredible list of this year’s accomplishments demonstrates the strength and commitment of this community to this park and the health and well-being of our community.
Humboldt Park Friends is an all-volunteer organization, and we have some truly amazing volunteers to celebrate. We recognized the group efforts that included volunteers for Tree Day, Easter Egg Hunt, Cattail Cut, Pollinator Garden planting, Corn Roast, Jazz At The Vine, Ice Skating Crew, Tree Maintenance, the Humboldt in Harmony Educational Series, Park Clean Up, Yoga in the Park, and the AARP Walk Audits.
We also celebrated the contributions of individual volunteers!
Gary Hollander
is the vice president of Humboldt Park Friends and is critical to the success of our group. Gary is our fund-raising champion and organizer extraordinaire. Gary has been a major sponsor of Jazz at the Vine. Gary was instrumental in helping HPF secure our Anthropocene grant and in ensuring we met its requirements. This grant has enabled an amazing amount of outreach and park projects.
Henry Szymanski
is our Reforestation chair and champion of the trees! Henry leads a dedicated group that oversees tree planting, including the 100 for Humboldt and has added more than 40 trees since then. Henry managed the maintenance project for recently planted trees, selected trees in concert with County Parks arborists, and hosted Tree Day.
Patrick McSweeny
is our lagoon champion and is on top of PR for our group. He leads the annual cattail cut and ensures the community knows about our efforts. Patrick is working with the UWM School of Freshwater Science to investigate the health of the lagoon.
Kyle Arpke
is our wildlife chair, who has led and organized many activities in the park, including bird and bat walks, and he brings his impressive knowledge to our wildlife conservation efforts. Kyle also applied for the Anthropocene grant.
Lynn Goldstein
is our pollinator chair, and she and her committee designed and organized the pollinator planting this year. Lynn’s committee is maintaining our 1000 SF pollinator garden, which is already attracting bees, butterflies, insects, and song birds. Lynn’s expertise and commitment have brought the garden to life.
Steve Lucia
is a board member who helped conceive of and organize the Humboldt In Harmony initiatives and was instrumental in organizing the educational series.
Lacey Faye Struensee
has agreed to join our board this year, and we are grateful to have her join. Lacey has organized our volunteer efforts and organization, and her writing and social media skills have helped us shape our outreach strategy.
Conner Cram
is an Eagle Scout, and his team of scouts, led by Henry, worked this summer to mulch around many of our new trees to ensure their ongoing health.
Konrad Kuchenback
serves on our pollinator committee and lends his knowledge and photography skills to documenting the park’s amazing wildlife.
Ignacio Catral
past president and current board member, Ignacio created our Humboldt Park Friends logo, our Humboldt in Harmony logo, and our 100 for Humboldt logo. He designed and manages our website, social media and event invitations. He created the new park signage and designed and built the 100 for Humboldt sign. Ignacio also conceived, managed, and coordinated 5 seasons of Jazz at the Vine.
Linda and Jim Luebner
are great friends of the park. Linda serves on the pollinator committee, and Jim brings his water expertise to help guide our water quality efforts.
Kayleigh Ildiko
serves on the pollinator committee and was instrumental in the planting of the pollinator garden. She and the Milwaukee Artist Group also organized and managed the Ice Cold Art pop-up event this summer at the park.
Greg Stilin
manages the ice on the lagoon every year! He designed his own Zamboni machine, an impressive accomplishment and works with his volunteers to clear snow and prep the ice for the community to enjoy!
Steve Gallum
is our Park unit manager, and he does an exceptional job keeping our park in great condition. He is always willing to lend a hand and work with us to get things done in the park. Steve is an excellent representative of the County System, its workers, and its trainees. The Board of Humboldt Park Friends values the daily contributions that Steve makes to our community’s well-being.
Molly Dixon
is our yoga instructor who donates the proceeds of the monthly yoga classes to Humboldt Park. We appreciate her time and generosity. Molly had agreed to continue yoga in the park on the 1st Thursday of each month, starting in February of 2026. She leads a great class, so please join her. Sign up on the Helium website.
Leslie Weber
is the amazing manager of the Vine beer garden, and she and her team are great partners in supporting Jazz at the Vine and managing our great beer garden! Leslie brings a warm and welcoming presence to the beer garden.
Laureen Strimel Jane Le Capitan, and Dani Graf
We also recognized Laureen Strimel, our treasurer and event organizer. Laureen is the reason our events go as well as they do because Laureen is always on top of the details. We also recognized Jane Le Capitan, and Dani Graf, our Secretary; these three ladies volunteer for every event and are always ready to help with anything and everything.
We want to thank everyone who came to the event and thank all of our volunteers for everything they do for our park and community. I want to thank our board, volunteers, and members. If you want to learn more about becoming a member or getting involved, please consider joining and volunteering for our events.