PROGRAM CHAIRMEN

Ellery and Karen Gulbrand

We are Ellery and Karen Gulbrand from Green Bay Wisconsin. Both of us are lifelong Wisconsinites. Ellery grew up on a dairy farm on the shore of Lake Michigan near Kewaunee and Karen a little bit south of there in Manitowoc. Ellery worked as a mechanical design draftsman and retired in 2012 after 47 years from Paper Converting Machine Company. Ellery is involved in our local community, serving as president of the Village Tree Board, commissioner on the Village Plan Committee, and secretary of the Howard/Suamico Historical Society. He is active at our church and serves as Director of Shepherding.

Karen worked for many years as a licensed insurance agent specializing in Employers Group Life and Medical Benefits. A career change took her to the education field where she worked as a paraprofessional in education working with emotionally challenged students in the district. She retired in 2012 from the Green Bay Area Public Schools. Karen volunteered for twelve years on the board of directors of the Brown County Fair, overseeing all the commercial and food vendors at the fair. Currently she helps Ellery with his secretarial work and serves on the Shepherding Board at our church. We have been married for 54 years and our family includes three children, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

We were introduced to the square dance world by friends in 1973 and have been involved ever since. Over the years, we have held many offices (numerous times) in our local club, area dancers association, and the state association. It was our honor to work on the Youth Committee for the 28th National Square Dance Convention held in Milwaukee, WI in 1979. In 2016 we were inducted into the Wisconsin Dancer Hall of Fame. We were one of three couples inducted in the first year of that program. We served as Assistant General Chairmen for the Wisconsin Square Dance Convention for two conventions and served as General Chairmen in 1995.

Currently we are members of the Romeo and Calicos Square Dance Club in Appleton, WI. Ellery is president of the Square Dance Association of Wisconsin (SDAW) and vice president of the Romeo & Calicos Square Dance Club. Karen is president of the Wolf River Area Dancers Association. We serve as delegates from the Wolf River Area Dancers Association to the SDAW. We serve as executive secretary for the Wisconsin Square Dance Convention Corp and secretary for the United Square Dancers of America. In 2021, we will be serving as Retail Sales Chairman for the 62nd Wisconsin Square and Round Dance Convention. Karen is the coordinator for dancers who volunteer to work in a concession stand at Lambeau field. This is a fund raiser for our area clubs. We had the privilege to work as the Bid Chairman for the 73rd National Square Dance Convention being planned at this time.

It is our honor to be working on the 73rd NSDC in the position of Program chairmen.