Parishioner from Remsen to head bishop's dinner
By DANIEL F. DeLONG, Globe editor
Posted April 25, 2002

Karen Waldschmitt, of Remsen, has been selected to chair the sixth annual Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education, scheduled for Oct. 21at the Marina Inn in South Sioux City.

Long a strong advocate for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City, Waldschmitt said the Bishop's Dinner is one of the most important activities of the year.

"It is a most enjoyable evening," she said. "It also brings people together from throughout the diocese who care about Catholic education."

A single person, Waldschmitt said supporters of Catholic education do not have to be parents.

"I want others to be able to be fortunate enough to get a Catholic education as I did," she said.

The selection of Waldschmitt as chair of the evening grew out of her many years of service to both the diocese and her own St. Mary Church in Remsen.

Besides serving on the pastoral council, she has also been chair of the Catholic School Foundation and is on the executive committee of the Centennial Campaign.

At St. Mary's she serves on a number of committees, many of which support the parish's financial needs.

Proceeds from the $125-per-ticket dinner will be distributed on a per-pupil basis to all of the Catholic schools in the diocese.

Waldschmitt said about 400 people are expected to be at the dinner. Education is viewed by Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo one of his most important job tasks.

At last year's dinner, the bishop said the Catholic schools in the diocese are "extremely precious."

"Without them," he noted, "the sense of the development of leadership in our diocese would be extremely poor."

The bishop said, "Friends, we do not have many institutions in the Diocese of Sioux City. It is relatively small, but we do have one set of institutions that have been with us since the late 1860s and are still with us today and are part of the major boast that we can make about the Diocese of Sioux City and that's our Catholic schools."

Waldschmitt is expected to name other members of the committee over the next few weeks, and also who will be the night's keynote speaker.