Diane Roundy finds joy in making a difference and inviting others to join her
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
Photography By Scott Eastman
Diane Roundy breaks into a smile as she shares a remark she says she’s heard about herself on more than a few occasions.
“The joke is, ‘Here comes Diane Roundy. What does she need now?’ I have a reputation,” she said with a laugh. “I will ask you to be involved in something. I just love the enthusiasm of making a difference and getting people together to make a difference.”
This year’s picnic at her parish, St. Clare, Askeaton/Greenleaf/Wrightstown, is an example of inviting others to get involved. She and her husband, Rick Roundy, took on the roles of the auction co-chairs, but the lead position for the picnic still needed to be filled.
“No one would chair the picnic, so I recruited a friend, Anne Gerrits,” said Roundy. “I said to her, ‘If you team up with me, we can do it.’ Hopefully, we’re going to come in at $90,000 (raised). There was a need. It’s not that hard because we have such great volunteers. It’s just a matter of organization.”
Roundy said her love of community and helping people began as a child.
She grew up in Oconto Falls, the youngest of the eight children of Norman and Dorothy Tisch. Her parents, now deceased, were role models in serving others, she said.
“My father was an electrician, an appliance person,” she said. “He would get calls in the evening from a relative or someone who had some kind of challenge. He would go and help them for free.”
Her father was Lutheran and her mother was Catholic. The children attended Mass with Dorothy at St. Anthony Church in Oconto Falls. Norman attended the Lutheran church.
“One of the things my dad told us when we were going to get married is that whatever you decide, become one religion because he had to go (to church) by himself,” said Roundy, who attended St. Anthony School.
She and Rick, who is from Pardeeville, Wis., met while they were students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. They married after graduation.
Thirty-four years ago, they moved to the Greenleaf area and joined St. Mary Parish in Greenleaf. St. Clare Parish was formed in 2009 through a merger of St. Mary, St. Patrick Parish in Askeaton and St. Paul Parish in Wrightstown.
“At one of the first Masses, Fr. Bob Kabat (pastor in Greenleaf at the time) welcomed us,” said Roundy. “He did a little research and said, ‘I’d like you on the church auction committee.’ That’s how we started getting involved in the community. We were asked.”
Roundy was a trustee at the parish for several years. She serves as a lector at Mass and as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.
She and Rick are the parents of three grown children, Adam, Megan and Jacob, all attended St. Clare School.
The couple co-founded the St. Clare School $10,000 raffle, now in its 20th year. The event has raised more than $2 million for the school.
“It’s a heart tug,” said Roundy about how she decides which volunteer opportunities to become involved in. “I love bringing people together for a really good cause. You obviously have to believe in the cause. We make it fun and exciting rather than just another initiative type of thing. I get energy from people.
“Father (Brian Wideman, pastor at St. Clare Parish) and I have a similar belief. We need to have ‘a welcoming porch,’” she said. “We need to have an environment where people feel welcome, and they get excited about learning more and becoming a part of the community. Let’s ask and see who wants to get involved. Let’s have a welcoming porch. Encourage people to come together.”
Roundy, who earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1992, also brings people together in her career. She is an executive recruiter at Truity Partners.
“I find leadership for companies. I find presidents for companies and senior leadership, so I’m dealing with some well-rounded people,” she said.
Roundy offers advice for working parents who volunteer.
“How do we balance that as a young family? We brought (our children) with us,” she said. “I would try to pick volunteer opportunities where the kids could come along. I was co-founder of Celebrate De Pere. One of my tasks was overseeing the children’s area because my kids could be there. Pick the things you can do with your family. You’re still giving back.”
Community involvement for Roundy has included Envision Greater Green Bay, YMCA of the Fox Cities, the St. Norbert College Donald Schneider School of Business, and co-founding and serving as past president of The Women’s Fund of Greater Green Bay.
She currently serves on the Green Bay Public Market Capital Campaign Committee and on the Green Bay Packers’ board of directors.
“I’ve been on the (Packers) board for 17 years… .
Someone nominated me. They asked me to go through the process and I was selected,” she said. “I chaired the community relations committee for five years. Our work is done through committee. It’s a very large board” made up of over 40 members.
“The community relations committee, (through) Packers Give Back, does such a phenomenal job for our community and the state of Wisconsin helping not-for-profits to make a difference,” she added. “We represent our shareholders and our fans. It’s so wonderful to see the collaborative effort of an NFL team and our community.”
Roundy has also shared her talents with the Diocese of Green Bay by serving on the strategic planning team for communications. Part of the team’s task was exploring ways to reignite young Catholic families, she said.
“We know that young families, many who grew up Catholic, want to have their child baptized or think they should have their child baptized, make their first Communion. How do we get them on that porch to feel like this is really the right thing for their family? Then, how do we help that family? Families are so busy, being taken away on weekends for sports,” she said. “How do we get them connected to our religion? We have to get more creative. Getting Bishop (David Ricken) on video, that personal touch, helps connect people.”
“There are different segments of parishioners, for example, someone who reads everything. Others need to be reached in another way,” said Roundy. “How do we meet each segment where they’re at? How do we draw somebody in?”
Roundy said that she not only finds satisfaction in getting people involved, but also seeing continued success of an event or organization after she’s moved on from a volunteer leadership position.
“Have a succession plan so people are ready to take over,” she recommended. “For example, the $10,000 raffle for St. Clare School. I (now) attend the event and just smile. Look what this has become. They’ve made changes. They do things differently and that’s OK. We’ll do the church picnic for a couple years and find our successor. I believe that I’m making our community better because I’m getting more people involved.”
Serving the church and the community continues to enhance her faith life, said Roundy.
“It gives me strength. You worry about your family, your kids, the community,” she said. “Having that faith is such a foundation to not only feel blessed, and I’ve been blessed, but when in hardship and tough moments, it’s there for you as well.”
It’s a heart tug. I love bringing people together for a really good cause. You obviously have to believe in the cause. We make it fun and exciting rather than just another initiative type of thing. I get energy from people.
We need to have an environment where people feel welcome, and they get excited about learning more and becoming a part of the community. Let’s ask and see who wants to get involved. Let’s have a welcoming porch.