Three honored by NICC Thursday night in Hall of Fame ceremony

Posted: Thu, Nov 12, 2020 5:30 PM

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Thursday evening inducted into its Hall of Fame three Winneshiek County residents--Mary Sender, Kristina Wiltgen and Marilyn Anderson.

 Kristina Wiltgen of Decorah is the director of Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, she has led Chamber initiatives, events and programs for the Decorah business community. Her "Buy Now, Shop Later" web-based gift card sales campaign helped numerous local businesses in managing reduced revenue as COVID-19 hit northeast Iowa last spring. In 2019 Mid-America Chamber Executives named Kristina one of three finalists for the Executive Director of the Year Award among seven upper Midwest states.

 Mary Sender of Ossian had a nearly 40-year career at Winneshiek Medical Center. She served in nearly every nursing capacity including medical-surgical nursing and emergency care before her appointment to surgery manager and, in 1996, to same day services manager. In 2012, hospital administrators promoted Mary to director of surgical and emergency services where she served until retirement in 2017.

Marilyn Anderson of Calmar has worked as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor, immigrant resettlement advocate, volunteer and devoted instructor for decades and helped local communities see how international and multicultural northeast Iowa truly is. Over the years, she taught English skills to adult students who spoke approximately 30 languages and she served as a volunteer for immigrant families by helping to secure resettlement homes in Decorah, identify employment opportunities and provide ongoing education and assistance for immigrants in the region.

Mary Sender

Kristina Wiltgen

Marilyn Anderson

NICC President Liang Chee Wee was the MC of the event