About Us

Debbie has been very active in the Delano Community since she moved into the area in 1997. She considers herself as a “community catalyst” by bringing various individuals, organizations or institutions together. She is the spark that ignites them to work together to bring positive changes to Delano.

Debbie has led or been actively involved in many start-up projects, organizations and events in the community, including the Delano Dream Team, Delano Farmers Market, Big Woods Garden Club, Delano Area Community Garden, Delano Fall Heritage Festival, Delano Council for Arts and Culture, Delano Old-Fashioned Christmas, Delano Sculpture Garden and the Delano Community Market. Debbie was a field consultant for the Initiative Foundation’s Healthy Community Partnership

program. She worked with other communities in Central Minnesota to help them identify projects that are healthy to the whole town or city. Debbie believes that art is a critical part of a healthy community. It gives the town or neighborhood pride and a unique identity,

making it more inviting to families, investments and economic growth.

  Sarah Hellmich is a long time Delano resident, with an interest in our community.  While her boys were in school, she was active in Delano PIE and school activities.  Now that her boys are grown, she chairs the Delano Area Community Foundation, is active in the Delano United Methodist Church and holds the treasurer position for the Delano Area Council for Arts and Culture.  Sarah believes that art and culture are an important part of a healthy community; that can bring people together.  

 LeAnna Wurzer has been a resident of Delano for most of her life.  She is a prolific artist and freelance oil painter, providing original oil paintings, genuine archival-quality prints, and many varieties of custom artwork to clients. She joined the Delano Area Council for Arts and Culture to immerse herself in a like-minded group that focuses on movement and change towards the betterment of our community by supporting the talents that brighten our lives.

Amy Johnson lives in Delano and joined the Arts Council in 2017. Amy joined the council to help expand music and performing arts programs in the area. She helped form the Delano Community band in 2017 and organized several fundraising concerts. 

Amy holds a masters degree in organizational management and operates a small communications consulting business. She also writes as a freelance correspondent for the Herald Journal.

Dave dreamed of a career in music until hearing loss forced him to make another plan.  After a career in television news and video production took him all over the world, he made another dream a reality: to discover a place where musicians/songwriters are respected and listened to.  Rieder Homestead Concerts began by chance after Dave used the Rieder Barn as a “set” for some music videos.  Now, 5 years after it began, Rieder Homestead Concerts have become a sought-after venue for artists around the country.  

Jack is an attorney, educator and theatre artist with a burning desire to bring live theatre to local communities. He has been an actor, scene and lighting designer for most of the 50 years since he left the undergraduate drama program at St. John’s University and acquired a master's degree in theatre in the San Francisco Bay area. For the last 17 years he worked in community theatre in the Delano area and since 2018 has worked with the Delano High School Drama program mounting productions at the schools, and especially in the new Performing Arts Center.

He has been a member of the boards of 4 Community Theatre, Chain Reaction Theatre Project, and Skylark Opera Company and volunteers as a project grant reviewer for the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Central Minnesota Arts Board. In his day job, Jack is an attorney in Wayzata and teaches business law at local colleges.

Being a member of the Council has motivated him even further to initiate the creation of a Delano-centered theatre organization, and with the Council’s support is moving forward with that effort. Watch here for more information about the “Delano Dramatic Company”.