Two longtime Shawano County supervisors honored
SHAWANO, Wis. (WFRV) – For 50 years, there’s been at least one constant at board meetings in Shawano County.
“I’m missing it already,” said board member Arlyn Tober.
Wednesday afternoon was Tober’s final full county board meeting after a 50-year run as a county supervisor. He said he still has a few committee meetings to attend next week, but that Wednesday was his final board meeting.
“I hope that they figure I was fair, honest, and that I did the right things,” said Tober.
Local officials wouldn’t let Tober ride off into the sunset without a little recognition first. Both the Wisconsin Counties Association and state representative Peter Schmidt honored him at the meeting.
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“If you were going to create the ideal public servant and build it from scratch, it might look like Arlyn,” said Wisconsin Counties Association president and CEO Mark O’Connell.
Tober is a farmer by trade, but still found time to serve on the county board for 50 years spending time serving on just about every committee the county has to offer.
He has also been a big proponent of UW extension programs throughout his years on the board.
Over 50 years, Tober has seen lots of projects and faces come and go. But one face that has been a constant, at least for the last 20 years, is the one that belongs to fellow county supervisor Gerald (Jerry) Erdmann.
“He (Tober) impressed me so much with how he was open, being honest, saying things like they are and he was definitely a role model for me,” said Erdmann.
Erdmann also called it a career on Wednesday afternoon after 20 years on the county board. Like Tober, he still has some committee meetings he needs to attend next week, but Wednesday was his final time attending a full board meeting.
He said although he won’t be there in an official capacity, he does plan to go to meetings in the future to give his thoughts on agenda items during the public comment section of the meetings.
The Wisconsin Counties Association also honored Erdmann for his 20 years of service at the meeting. He said he decided to run for the supervisor position because he felt like his district supervisor at the time wasn’t making enough of an effort to be involved in the community.
He said the two accomplishments he’s most proud of are the county’s human services center and evidence storage buildings for the sheriff’s office. He’s been a big proponent over the years of building a new justice center for the sheriff’s department and said he hopes that this is something that a future board can still get done.
He previously had been the board president for 10 years.
“I hope that they say that I was fair, that I was honest, that I was upfront, and that I did the job that was required,” said Erdmann.
Between the two of them, Erdmann and Tober have 70 years of experience between them. Local 5 News asked them what their advice would be to future board members. With an election coming up next week, there will likely be new supervisors on the board soon.
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“Dig into things, ask questions, don’t be afraid to ask questions because that’s the only way you’re going to get answers,” said Erdmann.
“Don’t come in and think you’re going to be a house on fire and think you’re going to change everything because you’re not going to,” said Tober.
Both men said they didn’t do the job for recognition or awards. They wanted to help their communities and have succeeded at that goal for a combined 70 years.
They both said they will spend more time with family and friends now that they no longer have county supervisor duties to worry about.
“If you want things to happen you can’t sit back and just watch things, you have to be willing to step up and get things done,” said Erdmann.
“When the discussion is over and the vote is in you can still be friends with the other supervisors and get to work on the next project,” said Tober in regards to why he likes county government.
