Past Scholarship Recipient has earned the title of Miss Wisconsin

Kimberly Sawyer, a past scholarship recipient of the Brian LaViolette Scholarship went on to be crowned Miss Wisconsin in June of 2010. Her story is pretty remarkable…

This was her second try at Miss Wisconsin, as she had been Miss Door County in 2008 and hadn't placed that year. But she didn’t give up..her reward was being crowned Miss Wisconsin last year. As it turns out, her sister Katie also competed at Miss Wisconsin that year, and was her first runner-up! A first in Miss America history!

Kimberly earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and a minor in Spanish. She also played on the St. Norbert College softball team, and was a captain during her senior year when they won the conference championship.

As she continues her journey as Miss Wisconsin this year, she has had amazing opportunities and unforgettable and inspiring memories. She represents the Miss America Organization which provides $45 million in scholarships every year to young women across the country, and is also involved with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

She also promotes her personal platform entitled "Service for the Soul" which promotes volunteerism and the importance of matching volunteers with organizations that match their passions, their goals, and schedules so that they may become life-long volunteers with those organizations.

With so many appearances as Miss Wisconsin, her most favorite thing to do is speak to students. She shares with them the importance of believing in themselves and their abilities, dreaming big, setting goals, and making good decisions to reach those goals.

Brian's Foundation becomes a Public Charity

Brian's Foundation has officially become a public charity as of January 1, 2011. We were established as a private foundation 18 years ago when we awarded one scholarship in memory of Brian LaViolette. Now awarding over 40 scholarships worldwide annually, the foundation has legally become a public charity.

Public charities typically carry out the same type of direct, charitable giving as private foundations. The true definition of a public charity, though, goes well beyond the programs and into the realm of structure and revenue source. One advantage of public charities over private foundations is the ability to attract support from other public charities and private foundations.

We are happy that this status has gone through and we look forward to what it will bring to Brian's Foundation.  Thank you all for your support through the years!

Friendship leads to establishing scholarship to remember local doctor

“To sum up Kenny in a few words would be a tribute to a great man. Kenny simply cared about all of God’s children. Those special enough to have met him are all better off because of his caring. His caring spirit must serve as a guide for all on how to live life. Because of Ken, we must all care about the people we meet. In this way we honor Kenny’s life.” –John Lochner, a good friend of Kenny’s.

With wife, Mimi in Hawaii in 2008

Dr. Ken Kubsch, grew up in Kellnersville, Wisconsin where he graduated from Manitowoc’s Lincoln High School. He graduated from Marquette School of Medicine in 1968 and first worked as a doctor of Internal Medicine and made many house calls.

Kenny loved the Green Bay Packers and attended games regularly through the years. In the 70s Kenny served as one of the Packer doctors for one year. In 2006 Kenny retired from medical practice and enjoyed his retirement.  Sadley, he passed away one year ago today.

The Ken Kubsch Scholarship  was created to honor a caring and humble Board certified family and internal medicine doctor who was simply called Kenny. In the spring of 2012, a scholarship will be provided to a student at Manitowoc Lincoln High School who is interested in history or science , both passions of Kenny.

John and Kathy Lochner, along with Dan and Carrie Whetter, good friends of the Kubsch's have contributed the seed money to establish this scholarship.

Many of us remember Kenny as the caring friend who was always willing to take care of our families medical needs.  If you would like to keep Kenny's memory alive with a donation please contact Kim at kim.laviolette@gmail.com or 828-242-3790.

"What's Right with America" on 11.11.11

Last Sunday at the Jet Air open house, Brian's Foundation officially announced our next event which will take place on historic 11.11.11. A BIG thank you to Jet Air for allowing us to kick off 11.11.11 with a silent auction and providing a sneak preview of some of the items that will be available for auction the night of 11.11.11.

On 11.11.11, we will celebrate, "What is Right with America" as we recognize the extraordinary people who have helped change the lives of countless individuals throughout the world.

We will highlight the cross-section of America, including the following areas:
• Our Armed Forces

• Philanthropic Work

• Business and Commerce

• The Arts and Entertainment Industry

• The Field of Sports

A special thanks to Cambria Suites, Eagle III and Not By Bread Alone for also donating items to this auction.

Thank you again to Jet Air, all those who bid on the items and all who came to support Brian's Foundation and 11.11.11!

If you'd like to become involved in 11.11.11, please contact Kim at kim.laviolette@gmail.com or 828-242-3790.

A father's proud moment

Board Member, Tony Mitchell is only 33 years old, but if you saw his ‘life’ on paper, you would guess he had lived an entire life thus far.


For starters he and his wife April have four children; Anthony, Alexander, Abraham and Annabelle. Enough said.

Here he is with two of his boys helping at the Quantico and Gettysburg wreath project paying tribute to Eric McColley, who we honor with a scholarship at Gettysburg High School. Fellow Board Member, Stan Clark plays the key role in Eric's Scholarship and wreath project.

 Tony enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1996, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in May 2000, with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science.  Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps through the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program.  After tours in Okinawa, Japan and two visits to Iraq, Tony reported to Green Bay in late summer of 2005. While in Green Bay, he was very active with Brian’s Foundation- helping at Packer Games, honoring his fellow Marines and also played a key role in the Medal of Honor Convention in 2007.



With fellow Board Members, Vicki Parmentier and Sue LeTourneau helping with ‘Brats for Brian’

On a serious side, one of Tony’s many duties as a United States Marine remains to honor Gold Star Families and our Fallen.   Tony conducted Casualty Assistance Calls Officer duties five times while in Green Bay.



Honoring United States Marine Corps Cpl. Brent Vroman, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in 2004 serving his country. Brent has a scholarship in his name at Omro High School in Wisconsin, which is sponsored by John and Kathy Lochner. 

 Tony started his masters’ degree in Military History through Norwich University in Vermont, moved to California when he was deployed to Afghanistan. He was the Company Commander for a Combat Engineer Battalion and returned just over a month ago, when he was able to meet his daughter Annabelle for the first time.

But one of his prouder moments happened last week when he was promoted to Major. His three sons, did the honor of ‘pinning’ him, while April and his daughter Annabelle looked on.

The Mitchell’s plan is to stay in California until summer of 2012. And some day Tony’s dream is to be the Mayor of Green Bay. :)



No matter where Tony is stationed, he remains active with Brian’s Foundation. We couldn’t be more proud to have him involved in not only sharing Brian’s Story, but the story of all those we honor.