Not many of us have a day proclaimed in our honor, but count Maribeth Bush among the few people in Waukesha County who do. On Dec. 8, 2023, the city of Oconomowoc proclaimed “Maribeth Bush Day” and presented her with the Key to the City. The celebration honored Bush upon her retirement from the Oconomowoc Area Foundation, after having served in many roles since the foundation’s inception in 2002.
Bush has been a founding and continuing board member, board president and foundation coordinator, a position she held for the past 10 years. Bush is honored by the award but said her work has been all about the mission: “We all want the best for our community.”
OAF also created the Maribeth Bush Humanitarian Award both to celebrate her and inspire others.
“Maribeth served the OAF and Oconomowoc with her whole heart and soul for over 20 years,” said Bob Johnson, OAF board chair. “This award will keep that spirit of exemplary service to others alive for generations to come.”
The OAF, a partner foundation of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, started with a fund created by Oconomowoc hardware store owner and philanthropist Hilbert N. Scherffius. Civic leaders and committed volunteers — initially IT businessman Craig Schiefelbein and former Navy vice admiral Dirk Debbink — realized the potential of building on this base to provide lasting support for local charitable causes.
Connecting with community
Bush, who has an administrative and marketing background, moved to Oconomowoc in 1990 with her late husband, Jerry, raising their sons Rob and Jim on their hobby farm. When the boys were young, she began working as a kindergarten teacher’s aide at Meadow View Elementary, then as a substitute teacher’s aide for special needs students at Park Lawn Elementary, both in Oconomowoc.
“It was truly one of the most impactful things I could have done in my life,” she recalled. “I learned a lot about the schools and a lot about the parents and students.”
She met Schiefelbein, then CEO of the IT company Paragon Development Systems, on a blue-ribbon task force to improve the facilities within the Oconomowoc schools.
“On that task force, I saw her work ethic and attention to detail, and offered her a job on the spot as my executive assistant,” Schiefelbein recalled. Bush began to volunteer with OAF as well.
Over the years, Bush has also volunteered with many other community groups, including the Oconomowoc Public Education Foundation and Oconomowoc Rotary Club and Rotary Foundation.
Impact on many levels
Over the years, OAF has awarded $4.7 million to more than 125 area nonprofit organizations — which has had a huge impact in a small geographic area. Its five funding priorities have not changed: caring for children, families, and the elderly; developing youth; helping those in need,
preserving the environment; and enriching the community through the arts and cultural programming. What has changed are the needs, including food insecurity, the mental health needs of youth and COVID.
“We have to help big needs,” she said, “But smaller projects that improve the quality of life are important as well.” Hence OAF’s funding of a skate park, splash pad and the Moonlit Movies series in Fowler Park.
One of the “big needs” funding recipients is the Lake Area Free Clinic. Serving low-income residents of Waukesha County with medical and dental services, the clinic has been continuously sponsored by OAF since its inception.
“They don’t just fund new projects,” said Megan Welsh, LAFC’s marketing and development director. “They hold the building blocks in place to keep the culture of the community intact.”
Welsh said of Bush, “If Oconomowoc had a community crockpot, Maribeth would be filling it. She is the mother of Oconomowoc.”
Schiefelbein added, “She didn’t build the nonprofits we fund, but she helped create a culture that helped make them better.”