Our staff
Kelly Bonner
Kendall Vingua
Kendall Vingua
Volunteer/Client Director
Kelly worked in the Occupational Therapy field in Eau Claire for 32 years and aside from her professional and educational background, she has experienced caring for family members at home as they have aged and become disabled. Before moving to Spring Valley, she ran a small motel in Thorp, Wisconsin until the COVID pandemic.
Kelly is very thankful for the opportunity to both live and work in Spring Valley. "I love small towns and my work at Staying Put helps me stay connected to people and keep them happy and safe in their homes for as long as possible."
Kendall Vingua
Kendall Vingua
Kendall Vingua
Advancement Director
Kendall began her career in nonprofit finance and fundraising 15 years ago, and has shared her strategies for reaching donors through thoughtful stewardship and use of tech tools with many political, educational and community based organizations. She is extremely grateful for the opportunity to bring those skills to Staying Put, as the mission and community are close to her heart.
A new Spring Valley resident, Kendall lives on her family's farm that they first homesteaded in 1855 with her father, a lot of dogs, and an untenable number of squirrels.
Kathy Nyeggen
Kathy Nyeggen
Kathy Nyeggen
Music Coordinator
"I’ve been honored for the opportunity to serve this agency since 2015, when it formed. With a background primarily in corporate administrative and Human Resources management, it has been the most rewarding experience of my career life. The incredible people I’ve known & worked with in the Spring Valley community have made possible what its founder, Margy Balwierz, envisioned. I am very grateful to be a part of this important work."
In 2024, Kathy retired after 9 years of incredible work with Staying Put, but remains involved with the organization as a volunteer and coordinator of our Sharp Notes, Sharp Minds music program,
Board of Directors
Sue Christopher
Sue Christopher
Sue Christopher
Board President
Sue is retired from 3M, she and her husband Mark own Maple Leaf Orchard. Both Sue and Mark have dealt with aging parents and friends, so they really admire Staying Put's mission to help keep local people independent as long as possible. Sue is looking forward to working with this dedicated group!
Cari Cornelius
Sue Christopher
Sue Christopher
Board VP/Treasurer
Cari moved to the Spring Valley area in 2019. She has two dogs and spends most of her time doing any activity she can find outdoors. She works for the local Spring Valley and Woodville newspapers. She learned about Staying Put by covering various events including the Memory Café anniversary and Elmwood Expansion and realized that the cause was near and dear to her heart. She signed up as a volunteer shortly after. She is excited about what the organization does for the community and the services it offers to area residents.
Susan Ketchum
Sue Christopher
Susan Ketchum
Board Member
Susan is a retired educator and data analyst. A founding member of Madison's A Room of One's Own, a feminist bookstore in opened in 1975, she later helped organize the Madison Flute Club, works on the annual WI Flute Festival and occasionally plays alto flute with the non-profit group. She also served on the Board of Living Our Visions, Inc., a community non-profit composed of families of adult children with disabilities. Susan enjoys Spring Valley, as well as learning about the Chippewa, Downsville, Lake Hallie, and Eau Claire areas where the Lang, Ross, and Ketchum families first settled and her grandmother was a childhood friend of the inspiration for "Caddie Woodlawn".
Nick Andrews
Margy Balwierz
Susan Ketchum
Board Member
Our newest Board Member, Nick, serves as Director of Elmwood Public Library. After 15 years working in public libraries in Ohio, Saskatchewan, and Minnesota, he is delighted to return to his home state; he lives with his wife in Menomonie, where she teaches Aquatic Ecology at UW Stout.
Nick feels that supporting his local community is by far the best part of library work, and over the years he has been able to connect people to the internet, identify scams, track down medical resources, and provide tools to keep reading and learning as folks begin to need vision and hearing assistance.
Nick adds: “Greetings from your Friendly Local Librarian™! I love that public libraries are a free place to get help with all this and more, and when I was approached to serve on the board for Staying Put I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
Staying Put’s mission to maintain the independence of our friends, family, and neighbors is exciting, and its close alignment to the mission of public libraries brings me incredible joy. My goal is to ensure Staying Put and local public libraries can support and enhance each other’s work for the benefit of our whole community.”
Margy Balwierz
Margy Balwierz
Margy Balwierz
Founder & Adjunct Board Member
Margy Jean, who has lived in our area for more than 20 years, initiated the effortto bring Staying Put to Spring Valley. She was raised in Illinois and received formal education at UW-Madison; Mundelein, Chicago, and
Macalister, St. Paul. After widely traveling she became a wife, mother
and grandmother who enjoys the gardening and being outdoors, rocks, dragonflies and sky watching. A retired Elementary Science Specialist, she has volunteered with Raptor Center Educator, Minneapolis Food Shelves, and Adoray Hospice, and continues to be active in reading, cooking, yoga and the creative arts.
Don Fritz
Margy Balwierz
Margy Balwierz
Board Member
Don grew up in Elmwood and returned seven years ago. He is semi-retired as of last year. He is an alternate MOW driver and is familiar with Heritage home in Elmwood with his parents’ experience there. He is happy to help our worthy cause.
Erik Thompson
Erik Thompson
Erik Thompson
Board Member
Erik was born in Hastings, MN and moved to Spring Valley in 1998. He’s a graduate of SVHS Class of 2004 and of UW-Stout, and is currently employed with Pillar Bank. Erik resides in Spring Valley where he’s lived most of his life and loves being a part of a community that he has become so invested in. He enjoys spending my time with family, friends, watching & coaching sports, and sports card collecting; he also participates in HS officiating, the SVHS baseball team as an assistant coach, and as manager of the Spring Valley Hawks Baseball Club. “I am excited and fortunate to be a part of such wonderful organizations like Staying Put in our community.”