Greetings, Members!
Looking Forward to a Terrific 2026!
Schedule of Events: We have a fun, full year planned. This calendar is also posted on our facebook page and at wiltoniowa.org.
Coming Up…
Legislative Forum
Mark Lofgren and other lawmakers will be in City Hall Council Chambers on Saturday, February 28, at 9 am to talk with and hear from the community. This year the Legislative Forum is sponsored by Wilton Precision Steel.
Career Expo
Save the date of Thursday, April 2 for this year’s Career Expo at the Wilton Community Center. We will be sending an email with more information shortly.
Membership 2026
Dues/Sponsorship Donation: Many thanks to those we have received 2026 membership dues donations and sponsorship contributions from! Soon we will be emailing out reminders to those who have not responded for 2026 yet—please send in your dues donation, and we hope you will be a sponsor, too—your sponsorships help us continue putting on our community events like the ones in the Schedule of Events above!
Annual Member Luncheon
January 21 we celebrated a great year of fun community events and economic progress in 2025 at the Annual Member Luncheon.
WCDA honored Dan Oien (below) and First Choice Real Estate as Outstanding Business of 2025 for generously offering a storefront for a downtown business, as well as for his help with WCDA’s workforce housing initiative.
Several volunteers were honored: Becky Hansen (below) for helping out at every event and specifically for her last-minute trip to Des Moines in May, when she was at the gambling license office before they opened at 8 am!
Wilton High School seniors Cooper Wehage and Kelsie Thomas (below), who have volunteered at almost every WCDA event for the past two years, were awarded for their willingness, dependability, and hard work.
Finally, Mayor Keith Stanley (below) received Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for his many hours of work on the storefront at 101 W. 4th Street.
WCDA honored Outgoing President Scott Vieten (below) for his years of service to the Board.
For more photos from the luncheon, see below.
In Other News
United Way Muscatine County
United is the Way nominations are now open! You can nominate individuals and corporations to be recognized for the highest volunteer hours or highest percentage of employees who volunteer. The awards will be presented at the United is the Way luncheon on April 8. Nominations must be submitted by February 28. Click on the following links to nominate a Student/Individual or Business/Organization.
The Kids First Pancake Breakfast is January 30, 7-9 am at MidWestOne Bank, downtown Muscatine.
United Way is looking for volunteers for 2026 VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Tax Preparers for the upcoming tax season. Volunteers receive free IRS training and can give back to the community by offering free, accurate tax preparation help to people who may not be able to afford professional services. The dates will be Feb. 6, 9 am-2 pm; Feb. 26, 2-7 pm; March 6, 9 am-2 pm; and April 3, 2-7 pm.
For any United Way questions, call Mason at 563-223-8497 or email mason@unitedwaymuscatine.org.
New WCDA Board President Monika Verdinez and Pastor Brian Channel
