MADISON – Today, Representative Alex Joers (D-Waunakee) was honored to present the legislative Hometown Hero Award to Janet Bybee for her years of dedicated service to her community. Following the ceremony, Representative Joers released the following statement:
“For the past 19 years, Janet has been a relied upon, steady, and welcoming presence at Wayforward Resources. She has volunteered over 5,000 hours of her time to her community in this role, consistently greeting guests at the food pantry with compassion, warmth, and dignity.
“After retiring from a 30-year career with the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Janet joined WayForward–at the time known as Middleton Outreach Ministry–when friends encouraged her to get involved.
“She began volunteering when the pantry was a much smaller operation—no computers, just handwritten check-in cards—and has remained a constant presence through years of growth and change to meet the community’s evolving needs.
“Last year, WayForward served nearly 15,000 people—the most in their 40-year history and twice as many as just two years ago. Today, the pantry is experiencing four times as many visits as it did only four years ago. Volunteers like Janet make it possible to meet this growing need. She embodies the very spirit of a Hometown Hero—selfless, compassionate, and unwavering in her commitment to ensuring every neighbor has enough to eat and a community to belong to.”
To learn more about Wayforward Resources and how you can support their mission, please visit www.wayforwardresources.org.
