Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, November 5, 2026. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
“Do what you do, but don’t expect to be recognized for it.’ Teach that to your children, whether it’s your own kids or your grandkids or the neighbor kids…and hope that they’re growing up to be good people,” said Brenda Stier, who, along with her husband, Matt, do what they do – donate and volunteer – without expecting recognition for the money, time and talent that they contribute to the Spring Valley and greater community throughout each year.
Except…this time, they’re being announced, celebrated, regaled. Nominated by Spring Valley Kiwanis Club members Rita Bezdicek and Mark Woodward, the Spring Valley residents will have to graciously sit in a crowd of people whose sole purpose is to point out that they, recipients of the Spring Valley Kiwanis Club’s 2026 Citizen of the Year Award, are indeed worth a little moment in the spotlight. The consolation for the Stiers lies in that the Citizen of the Year Award is a fund raiser for the Kiwanis Club’s annual scholarship program that helps Kingsland seniors pay for advancing their post-secondary education, and to that, they agreed to accept only as many words as the nominators will offer during the awards ceremony this Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Spring Valley Community Center.
Brenda is a Kiwanian, so for her to be asked to leave the room during the Citizen of the Year nominating process was unusual. Upon her return, the committee informed her that her service as a Kiwanian, as a co-organizer of Spring Val ley’s 2023 and 2024 Relay for Life events, for her willingness to step up and lend a hand whenever the community asks – or even when it doesn’t get so far as to request something – qualified her to be the 2026 co-nominee with her husband, who just as often as Brenda volunteers to fill a need is right there alongside her, or up a ladder, or toting supplies and equipment for various efforts. Matt, who owns Tracker Industries on the northern edge of Spring Valley, qualified for that very reason – his own willingness to quite literally step up when asked – because sometimes, Brenda’s simply not tall enough to reach the thing she volunteered to clean for someone who wasn’t able to do it themselves due to age or other limitations.
When they’re not holding ladders or hauling things from one side of town to the other for different causes, they like to underwrite benefits, fundraisers and projects or match the final sum of a completed fundraiser. “We like to go behind the scenes, and we try to keep our ears open and support local things, like the ambulance service needs a generator or when the church wants to buy an automated external defibrillator, (AED),” Brenda stated as Matt concurred that their joint financial gifts to the community range from buying coats, hats, mittens and boots for local clothing collections to matching scholarships such as the Kiwa nis scholarship total amounts. And on most days of the week, they have a singing engagement somewhere, be it a nursing home or assisted living, restaurant or church, sharing their gifts of song with others who may be in their last years or Matt and Brenda Stier are the Spring Valley Kiwanis Club’s 2026 Citizens of the Year. are just young enough to hear them perform for the first time. Matt related, “We like to play music almost every weekend at breweries, assisted liv ing, VFWs, nursing homes.” Two-time Kiwanis club president Brenda relayed that she appreciates “playing music at care centers” and that their calendar fills up quickly each month because they are known as generous troubadours who understand that elderly listeners want to hear songs of their own eras and that while some may appear to be snoozing, they’re busy reliving the best parts of their lives, set to gentle music.
Brenda collects outdoor clothing for a Kings land winter clothing drive and puzzles to distribute at libraries and nursing homes when she’s not leading a Kiwanis project or events such as the Relay for Life. Beyond that, she enjoys attending her grandchildren’s school sports and concerts, re laxing with a cup of coffee at home while watching the squirrels and turkeys roaming their back yard and catching up with Matt when they’re not traveling to concerts presented by other musicians. “We like to go be entertained by other musicians,” she commented, recounting their recent adventures to a performance the weekend before. Matt is happiest when he’s at other musicians’ concerts – as “we try to support them, and they support us,” finishing his new shop building on the east edge of Spring Valley, attending his grandchildren’s ballgames, or wandering the woods behind their house near Good Earth Village, spotting the critters and cutting firewood for the coming winter when staying indoors by the fire is the most fitting thing to do with one’s time.
Brenda observed that being recognized together as Kiwanis Citizens of the Year is an honor for which she didn’t ask, but it is one that she feels they will weather humbly. She still maintains that this year’s nomination is a surprising choice, but that’s because she and Matt aspire to live for little acclaim for their accomplishments and continue doing what they do without expecting recognition for it. “I look at the names on the nomination papers and the plaques, and I think, ‘Wow, that name should be on there with them…’.”
The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club will hold a program and reception for the Stiers this Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Spring Valley Community Center. The reception will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by the program at 1:30 p.m. All proceeds from gifts will benefit the Kiwanis Club’s scholarship initiative that supports graduating Kingsland seniors.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
