ARTHUR MEDTLIE MEMORIAL ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP

Arthur (Bud) Medtlie was a long-time civic leader and supporter of vocational education. He served on the Chippewa Valley Technical College (then District One) governing board from its inception in 1968 until his death in November 1983.

Active in community projects, he served on both the city council in Menomonie, where he operated a grocery store and worked as a real estate broker, and on the Dunn County Board of Supervisors. He was named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Menomonie Chamber of Commerce in 1982.

Known throughout Wisconsin for his concern for vocational education, Mr. Medtlie chaired an association of men and women who served on the governing boards of the state’s 16 vocational/technical schools. In that capacity, he assisted in the selection of a new state director and set up the first conference in Washington, DC, between Wisconsin legislators and the state’s vocational education leaders. He was cited by that group for his outstanding service, as well as by the Wisconsin Vocational Association.

A colleague in the board’s association recalls “his leadership was the foundation on which organization was built. He led by example, and his example was a benchmark that others followed. His sense of humor and instinct on when to use it often turned tense situations into constructive resolutions. He likes to use the phrase ‘keep calm . . . you are only passing through.’ He lived that phrase but left indelible footsteps in the process.”

This scholarship was made possible through the donations of family, friends, and coworkers, as well as a breakfast fundraiser held in February 1984 by the Menomonie Optimist and Kiwanis Clubs in memory of Arthur (Bud) Medtlie.