Bill Bartelme 

Bill had been thinking about finding some outlet for more involvement in the Church and in the community, and when Dave Tlachac contacted him about the Knights of Columbus, he was ready.  In the short couple of months that he has been a part of the fraternity, Bill has been a familiar face at Council meetings and has been involved in several activities including the food and refreshments for the Marriage Anniversary Recognition Mass at St. Bernard.  He has also been a part of the crew which has been taking turns “bringing Monica to church.”  He has also bee a part of the crew taking turns in bringing.  Though his father was a Knight, Bill did not know much about the organization.  For him, ”Knights of Columbus” brought to mind the clubhouse in his native Manitowoc as well as images of men in black and red robes.  He was also aware of the insurance activities of the Knights.

 

The military has been a big part of Bill’s life to this point--he has been involved since the age of eighteen and continues to serve in the Army Reserves, being a part of the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion for about twenty years now.  His Reserve duties involve one weekend per month and about two weeks a year, as well as occasional evenings.  He has found the involvement very rewarding, and had the opportunity to visit Belarus in the former Soviet Union recently.  He also saw service in the Gulf War as a part of the U.S. involvement in Operation Desert Storm.  Bill’s unit was called up to active duty and sent to Kuwait City in January of 1991 and spent several weeks in restoration services such as water, food and police--essentially re-establishing the infrastructure.  Following that, he was diverted to northern Iraq to work among the Kurds in refugee camps.

 

When he’s not involved in the military. Bill works as a Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at the Kewaunee power plant, where he has been for over twenty years now.  He says there is no such thing as an average day in his job, and finds himself spending time working with the County and the State as well as writing plans and developing disaster scenarios.  Handling changes is part of his job and recent deregulation has convinced him that change can’t be avoided, only dealt with.

 

Bill and his wife, Sandy, have been married for just over 25 years and have three children, all of whom are at home.  He came to the Green Bay area when he went off active duty with the Air Force in 1972.  The family has been a part of St. Bernard Parish for some time now, and Bill has served as an usher and as a member of the parish’s Board of Education.  Other community involvements include serving as president of the Bay Lake Soccer Association, a recreational group.  He is still “feeling out” the Knights of Columbus, and is quite impressed by what he sees so far.  He compliments the Knights on their charitable work, something he feels sets them apart from many other organizations.

 

March 1995