CULTIVATING A CREATIVE COMMUNITY. Ken Szymanski (above) was recently awarded for his efforts propelling Wisconsin’s creative community forward. (Photo via Ken Szymanski's website)

Eau Claire’s writer in residence Ken Szymanski was recently named the recipient of a Wisconsin Creative Champions Award from Arts Wisconsin in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. These awards “honor civic leaders as champions and communities in Wisconsin focused on creativity as integral to civic engagement, community vitality, and access for everyone everywhere in the state,” according to an announcement. Other recipients include LaMoine MacLaughlin (poet laureate of the City of Amery), Joseph Engel (poet laureate of the City of Kenosha), Angela Trudell Vasquez (poet laureate of the City of Madison), Dasha Kelley Hamilton (poet laureate of Wisconsin), Debra Hall (poet laureate of the City of Racine), Lisa Vihos (poet laureate of the City of Sheboygan), and Dawn Anderson (poet laureate of the City of Wausau). Szymanski teaches English at DeLong Middle School, is a renowned local author and essayist, and is a longtime Volume One writer.