Distinguished Alumni of 2000

Dr. Alan W. Ewert  |  Mr. Ronald Felten  |  Dr. Robert W. Prielipp

Dr. Alan W. Ewert

Professor Alan Ewert
Patricia and Joel Meier Endowed Chair in Outdoor Leadership
Department of Recreation and Park Administration
HPER 133
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
(812) 855-8116
fax (812) 855-399
aewert@indiana.edu

Mr. Ronald Felten

THE STORY OF AN ACCOUNTANT WITH VISION, VENTURE & COMPASSIONI was born and raised in Schofield, the middle child of three children in the family of Carl and Frieda Felten. I attended Schofield elementary school, Wausau Junior and Senior High Schools and graduated from D.C. Everest in 1954. In the High School Annual under my picture, it states my goal was to be a Certified Public Accountant. The next four years I spent as a student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus. I majored in accounting and graduated in June, 1958 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Following graduation I started my professional career in Chicago with a national CPA firm. My office was right in the “loop” on the 39th floor of the Board of Trade Building. After about four years of riding the elevateds and subways and dealing with traffic jams, I was ready to head north. I received a call from John Ullrich who offered me a position with the firm of Wipfli Ullrich Bertelson. The next 28 years I spent as a manager in their tax department in the Wausau office. In September 1989, I opened my own CPA firm near Cashton, Wisconsin under the name of Ronald L. Felten & Associates. Our office is in our home. Being in business on my own has worked out well for us as a family. My clientele is made up of businesses and individuals located in six surrounding small communities. Over the years, I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of public accounting. I have especially enjoyed providing my clients with services aimed at saving taxes. I became a Certified Public Accountant in 1966 and since then I have been a member of the American Institute of CPA’s and the Wisconsin Institute of CPA’s. As long as I can remember I have been a “people person” especially loving kids and young people. While at the UW my heart went out to international students who were lonely and having difficulty with the English language. I tried to help some as much as I could. My best friend for 3 years in Madison was a blind student from whom I learned so much. As a young person, the highlight of my summers was a week or more at Bible camps. After college, I was able to arrange with my employers to have two to three months off in the summers to direct, counsel or teach at Bible camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota and elsewhere. While in Chicago, I worked on my own, evenings and weekends, with a group of intercity kids. This was really challenging, as most had never been outside of the “concrete jungle”. Often I filled my station wagon and took a group of these boys to Wisconsin for a weekend outing or for a week of camp. In 1963, I was married to Carol Ann Gray in Atlanta, Georgia. Of all places, our honeymoon was spent at a Bible camp in North Carolina. Camps and youth work kept us busy along with our two daughters who brought so much joy to our lives. In 1972 the four of us moved to a 120-acre farm near Cashton, Wisconsin so we could provide the needed leadership for Living Waters Bible Camp, which we had helped develop near Westby, Wisconsin. It’s ironic that at that time we thought our family was complete and our ministry outside of my profession was in camp development, administration and counseling. Little did we know what the Lord had in mind for us and why He had directed us “city people” to buy a farm on a dead end road. We were very active in Living Waters until the mid 80’s and saw it grow. In the late 70’s our family started to grow biologically (3 more daughters) and from 1980 to 1992 our arms, hearts and home were opened up to 18 more children (17 adopted and 1 foster). The first two were from Wisconsin and the next five came from Korea. Then we learned there was a special need for adoptive parents for black children. Our social worker again went to work for us and 4 precious black baby boys were added within a 12 month period. Our house needed enlarging and more bedrooms were added. Since we had adopted special needs children, we were asked to consider another one with spia bifida. Carol Ann being a nurse felt we could, so we did. Because her condition was so serious her life was very short, but she made a unique impression on all of us. Our attention was turned to sibling groups as we read stories from adoption agencies of so many “waiting children”. In 1989 the doors opened for us to go to Brazil to complete the adoption of a sibling group of 4 and an unrelated 11-year-old quadriplegic boy. To say the least that was a memorable trip full of pressure and obstacles, but two weeks was just enough time to get through all of the legal hoops. Knowing this event would make a major change in our family, we took 5 of our children to Brazil with us to begin the bonding process there. We flew back as a group of 12. The details are too numerous to recount. Arriving home safely was only the beginning, of course. With daily mercies, strength and help from the Lord and all working together, the family blended. It all may sound impossible, but as our family has grown we have added outdoor facilities to keep the children occupied and active. We also have been raising horses since we have lived on the farm. Most of the children are good riders and the horses, besides being great pets, generate daily chores for the children and teach them responsibility. Our managery also includes goats, rabbits, dogs, kittens, bees, etc. We purchased an adjacent farm to give us more space and more trails to ride. I wouldn’t want to try raising our family anywhere but here. Again in late 1990 we received a call from the Milwaukee office of Lutheran Social Services asking us if we would be open to adopting a little blind girl from Taiwan. After praying about it and talking it over with the children, everyone was excited about having a blind child in the family. Our patience and faith were tested as it took nearly two years to complete the paperwork and obtain all of the necessary approvals. Mei-Ling has brought such joy to our family that all the effort to get her was well worth while. At 9 years of age now, she has a great gift in music and takes lessons in piano and violin. She also reads Braille fluently many grades above her age and loves to be involved in all the family activities. I don’t want to make it sound like this family venture was easy nor are we super-human. We have often buried our faces in our pillows, tired and in search of answers. But there is nothing to be compared with the worth of a child who needs love and parenting. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is to visit (assist) orphans and widows in their distress” James 1:27 At one time we had 8 in diapers, now we are enjoying watching them play hockey as teenagers (4 boys and 4 girls). Of course they enjoy other sports as well, but we are a hockey family. Yes, we have given much but we have also been greatly blessed! Gaining wealth and notoriety cannot be compared with the enrichment that has been added to our lives by these children. Each one has contributed something for the benefit of the others. Little do we know yet of what the future holds in the way of fruit from this family which the Lord has blended together. Accountants are usually conservative by nature, but faith changes conservatism to vision and venture! Any Everest alumni who happen to be in the Cashton area are welcome to pay a visit to Plumfield, which is what we have named our farm. Just don’t all come at once.

Ronald Felton

Dr. Robert W. Prielipp