Anderson, Bishop earn Ettrick Fun Days awards

Both Layne Anderson and Joe Bishop have spent nearly their entire lives in Ettrick, and their reason for never leaving the small Trempealeau County community is the same — the people.

Those people have honored Anderson as the 2024 Ettrick Citizen of the Year, while Bishop has been tabbed the Lion of the Year as part of the Ettrick Lions Club’s annual Ettrick Fun Days celebration, set for this weekend.

Anderson has worked as the clubhouse manager at Ettrick Golf Club for the last 39 years. He and his wife Sarah raised three children in Ettrick and have five grandchildren.

Anderson has helped keep the small-town golf course in Ettrick, overseeing the bar, pro shop, food, hiring, scheduling and more. He also previously served on his church’s council.

Anderson was in disbelief when someone walked into the clubhouse one morning to tell him he was selected as citizen of the year.

“I’m actually lost for words,” Anderson said when asked what the recognition meant to him. “It’s just such an honor.”

The golf course can be a fast-paced environment that keeps Anderson on his toes, but he appreciates that the community supports the course and each other.

“It’s the people,” he said of what makes Ettrick special. “People are so friendly. When I started at the golf course I met so many people over all the years that I’ve been there. It’s a small town, but it’s such a nice place to be.”

Ettrick works together as a community, Anderson said, something the 2024 Lion of the Year, Joe Bishop, knows well.

Bishop has been a Lions Club member for 37 years and has lived in Ettrick for nearly his entire life.

Last year he earned the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, the Lions Club International award named after its founder. 

In 2015 he earned the Knight of Sight Fellowship, which honors individuals for their contributions to the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin in Madison, a nonprofit that helps visually impaired individuals through cornea transplants, research and other avenues.

“It’s always a big honor to have your fellow Lions members choose you,” Bishop said of the recognition.

Bishop currently serves as the club secretary and was its president in the early 1990s. He was excited about the club’s ability to donate a book vending machine to Ettrick Elementary School this year and also pointed to a seasonal event.

Bishop is most proud of the club’s annual elderly and alone dinner in December, a meal that brings upwards of 200 people together for a holiday meal and keeps spirits high. He said the Lions Club makes a positive impact on Ettrick, adding it is a community effort.

Bishop, like Anderson, said the supportive community kept him and his wife Lana in Ettrick to raise their three daughters.

“It’s the people,” he said. “People are easy to talk to and it’s basically how you can talk to everyone and everyone gets along. It’s just a fun town.”

Both Anderson and Bishop will take part in this weekend’s Fun Days celebration, which opens Thursday with royalty coronation and continues through the weekend with music, food and events.

Bishop looks forward to the celebration, one he called a community effort.

“It’s about bringing people together — maybe some you haven’t seen for a while — and seeing new faces, spreading laughter and fun and just doing things that make people enjoy themselves.”