APPLETON, Wis. — Appleton resident Paul Wilke was recently presented with the Bob Wurdinger Athletic Service Award during a halftime ceremony at a Lawrence University men’s basketball game.
Wilke has become an integral part of the Department of Athletics in recent years by taking on the role of photographer for the Athletic Media Relations Office. Wilke shoots photos of upwards of 75 sporting events involving Lawrence teams every year. His work has been featured in Lawrence magazine, the Appleton Post-Crescent, the Lawrence website and publications produced by the Athletic Media Relations Office.
Wilke, who works as a senior commercial lines product manager at Secura Insurance, has made his Lawrence sports photography work available for all to see. Thousands of images exist for players, parents, students and fans to peruse through links on the athletic portion of the Lawrence website.
Wilke has been involved with Lawrence for more than a decade because he and his wife, Jill, and their two sons, Matt and Tom, serve as a host family for international students. Among the international students the Wilkes have adopted into their family over the years are men’s basketball player Salem Barahmeh and current student-athletes Liza Girsova, who stars in women’s soccer and track, and Anton Olsson and Gustav Lindgren, both hockey players from Sweden.
The Wilkes also have a close connection with former Lawrence hockey player and current associate head coach Kalle Larsson, who married one of their international students, Olia Shapel. The Wilkes also served as the host family for Kalle’s sister, Annie.
The award was established to honor Wurdinger, a Kaukauna native, and long-time Lawrence assistant football coach. Wurdinger, who has been a tireless advocate for Lawrence athletics for more than four decades, received the first award in 2006.
Other winners of the Wurdinger Award are: Chuck and Cinny Reff, Ken and Carole Ebert, Joe, Clyde and Jeanne Kieffer, Don Strutz, Dick Knapinski, Jerry Podair and Joy Jordan.