The Build the Future Foundation dinner was held Sunday on April 10 at JW’s Place in Slovan to honor four outstanding alumni of Kewaunee High School.

The four honorees for the Wall of Fame were Rebecca Smith Haltaufderheid, Lester Mueller, John Slatky and Roger Wanek.   The following are brief biographies of Slatsky and Wanek.

John Slatky

John Slatky graduated from the Kewaunee High School in 1970.  Following his high school graduation, John enrolled in St. Norbert College and graduated in 1974 with a BBA degree in Finance.  He then graduated from ABA Graduate School of Banking in Madison in 1980.  John was hired by the Bank of Luxemburg in 1984 as a loan officer.  He is currently the president/CEO of the Bank of Luxemburg and president of Luxemburg Bancshares Inc.  Since becoming the president/CEO, the bank’s assets have grown from approximately $36 million to $279 million. The Bank of Luxemburg was named the Best Place to Work in Kewaunee County in 2012 and 2013 under his leadership.

John is involved in many professional and community service organizations including the Community Bankers of Wisconsin (CBW), the Wisconsin Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).  Mr. Slatky has been a member of the Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce since 1985 serving in various capacities.  In 1998, he was chosen to be the Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year.  John has been a member of the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corp., served as chairman and board member for the Kewaunee County Human Services Committee from 1997 to 2005, and also acted as treasurer for the Luxemburg Low-Income Housing from 1988 to 2011.  John is married to Sally and has two children and two stepchildren.

Roger Wanek

Roger Wanek graduated from the Kewaunee High School in 1967 and participated in football, basketball, baseball, and Letterman’s Club all four years of high school.  He was selected to the All-Conference Team in baseball for three years and basketball for one year, and was also selected Most Valuable Senior in basketball and baseball.   Roger attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse following high school and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. 

In 1974 he taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Holy Rosary School and helped with their basketball program.  He then changed careers and took a position with the Community Bank of De Pere as vice president of commercial lending.  In 1982, Roger was hired as the commercial credit manager at American Foods Group and eventually was named their corporate director of human resources.  Roger then joined Brown County Publishing in 1997 as director of human resources and was elected to their board of directors in 2007, until his recent retirement.

Throughout his career, Mr. Wanek has been involved in many civic organizations including the De Pere Optimists Club and the United Way.  Roger coached grade school baseball and basketball for six years and coached the Ashwaubenon Legion Baseball team for two years.  He also was a member of the Kewaunee Chiefs baseball team for 10 years.  Roger has been married to Char since 1968, and they have two sons, Tim and Brian.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Build the Future Dinner honors Kewaunee High School alumni