Six brothers from the eastern Iowa town of Camanche are being recognized for their years of volunteer work. Charlie, Frank, Tom, Jerry, Ronnie, and Russ Wiebers are this year’s recipients of the Governor’s Award for Community Service.
They were nominated by Camanche Fire Chief Dave Schutte. Schutte says the brothers have always been "community minded", ever since the youngest brother started volunteering at the fire department in 1966. He says they still help with the department’s annual pancake breakfast and door to door fund drives. Besides their work for the Camanche Fire Department, The Wiebers also volunteer for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, AMVETS, and the local VFW.
"They’re just good hearted people that want to do well in the community," Schutte says, "and any opportunity that comes along to help people, they take advantage of it – we’re just privileged to have them living in our community." The Wiebers volunteer efforts have spanned four decades.
Combined, the six brothers have been donating their time for 120 years. Schutte says he’s not the only one to recognize the Wiebers, two other people in Camanche nominated the brothers for the award.