Who is the coolest Chippewa Valley celebrity (past or present)?

1.

By: correctthinking     79 votes

Bruce worked at WEAU TV from 1987 until 2001 according to Wikipedia. He also was President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association chapter for nearly 20 years, elected numerous times as chapter President, and being honored by the Eau Claire Jaycees for his volunteer efforts, including emcee of the annual telethon. Bruce was elected to the Eau Claire school board in the 90s and the Durand school board in the 1980s, where he began his broadcast career on WRDN Radio in 1977.

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2.

Judy Clark

By: VolumeOne     107 votes

Judy hosts various live and taped special programs and represents the station at a variety of community events.

Judy started her career at WEAU-TV in 1990 as a general assignment reporter. She also anchored NewsCenter 13 at Noon from 1992 until August 1998.

Judy is a graduate of Chippewa Falls Senior High School and UW-Eau Claire. This Wisconsin native also worked as a reporter and anchor for WAXX-WAYY radio prior to her work at WEAU-TV. She has won several state and regional awards for radio and television reporting.

Judy is a lifelong resident of the Chippewa Valley. She grew up on a dairy farm in the Town of Tilden in Chippewa County. Judy and her husband, Tom, have two sons.

Judy enjoys reading, fishing and gardening. (WEAU.com)

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3.

Justin Vernon

By: VolumeOne     208 votes

Bon Iver is the name of indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's current band and most notable music project to date. The name, Bon Iver, is an Anglicization of the French, bon hiver (good winter). Vernon independently released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007, the majority of which was recorded while spending four months in a remote cabin in Wisconsin.

While in high school and college, Vernon founded bands Mount Vernon and DeYarmond Edison, both indie-rock bands from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he still resides. (Wikipedia)

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4.

Ray Szmanda (The Menards Guy)

By: VolumeOne     187 votes

Raymond Jack Szmanda, Sr. (born June 22, 1926) is a radio and television announcer who became well-known across the midwestern United States for his "Menards Guy," who has advertised for the home improvement store for more than two decades. He continues to periodically make new ads, and a comic likeness of himself remains in most of Menards' print and in-store advertising. Szmanda currently lives in Antigo, Wisconsin. (Wikipedia)

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5.

Hank Aaron

By: crispinpierce     100 votes

One of the greatest sports athletes to grace a diamond, Hank Aaron and a generally supportive Eau Claire community helped shatter racial barriers as he shattered baseball records. (Image from Johnson Monument, LLC).

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6.

Ann Landers

By: Unwelcomeguest     136 votes

In 1939 Eppie Lederer ("Ann Landers") moved to Eau Claire, Wis., where she became active in Democratic politics, winning the county party chairmanship. She lived there until 1959, when she and her family moved to Chicago.

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7.

By: VolumeOne     135 votes

One of the first well-known personalities on WEAU was "Sheriff Bob" Dawson, who hosted a kids show from the 1950s-1960s (Wikipedia)

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8.

Fuzzy Thurston

By: VolumeOne     130 votes

Fred "Fuzzy" Thurston (born December 29, 1933 in Altoona, Wisconsin) was a guard in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. Thurston attended Valparaiso University.

He was a key member of the Packers' offensive line during the team's glory years from 1959 through 1967, when they won 5 NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls.

He is famous for his quote in response to a sportswriter's question asked of him how he prepared for the famous Ice Bowl game (where the game-time temperature was 15 degrees below zero). Thurston's response was "about 10 vodkas." (Wikipedia)

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9.

By: karkar     92 votes

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