Good Neighbor Award Winners 2023
JoAnna Richard
JoAnna Richard has been a selfless steward of the Middleton Community for more than 30 years. Working quietly under the radar, JoAnna has devoted countless hours to make Middleton an inclusive and caring community. JoAnna is a member of the Middleton Kiwanis service organization and has taken the lead on several volunteer projects such as planning and tending the vegetable garden for Voss House residents, food drives for Way Forward, stocking Little Libraries, and the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast that raises money for local nonprofits. She also helps mentor high school students in the Kiwanis Key Club. JoAnna volunteers her time with Meal on Wheels, helps the city with local elections, and serves on the Parish Council of St. Bernard Church, where she is a member of the environmental committee Creation Care, and assists with funeral luncheons. This summer she spent a week as an adult leader at the Badger Girls State that helps develop future female leaders in government. She became a substitute teacher to help reduce the teacher shortage in the Middleton School District. If JoAnna’s name is familiar, it is because she served the citizens of Middleton as an alder on the City Council, as a Supervisor on the Dane County Board and was previously the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development under Governor Jim Doyle.
Tim Cleary
Tim Cleary has exemplified the spirit of a Good Neighbor for many years. He was a stand-out in athletics at Middleton High School, exceling in baseball, football, and basketball. After high school he continued to play baseball on the Middleton Home Talent team. Tim has been a model of the connection between sports and community by coaching youth in baseball, football, and basketball. Tim was instrumental in the development and construction of the new Otto Breitenbach Stadium Complex at Middleton High School. Tim gives his time to several organizations within the community including membership on the Way Forward (formerly Middleton Outreach Ministry) board and the Middleton Booster Club. He is the Chair of the UW Carbone Cancer Center Advisory Board, and has been integral to the Guarding Against Cancer Event, the Strike Out Cancer Event, and the Round for Rylee.
Mike Davis
After serving nearly 24 years as the Middleton City Administrator, Mike Davis could’ve chosen to take it easy upon retirement and step back from active community involvement. Instead, he organized a series of engaging walking tours of historic Downtown Middleton, drawing from his deep familiarity with and love for the Middleton community. Mike’s Stroll and Tell events have been well attended and much appreciated by over a hundred area residents. The free walks have prompted longtime residents to provide new insights into the people and events that influenced Middleton’s evolution into the welcoming city it is today. It is one of the Middleton Area Historical Society’s most successful outreach programs in recent memory. Mike is also an active member of the Middleton Kiwanis service club, was a past president of the Middleton Area Historical Society, is on the Board of the Middleton Endowment, served on the Board of Middleton Outreach Ministry, and served on the board of the Middleton Chamber of Commerce. Mike has served as emcee for the Good Neighbor Festival Parade and has honored the festival as Parade Marshal.