Meet...

Matt Brand – Matt returned to Minnesota in 2002 after spending 4 years in Illinois.  He now lives in Mankato with his wife, Lisa, daughter, Naomi, and crazy hound dog, Chance, the Beagle.  Matt is a civil engineer for I&S Engineers & Architects and enjoys woodworking and working on their 99-year-old house.  He also rings with the handbell choir at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
	Jean Fiskey – Jean has been playing handbells since 1995 with Peals of Praise at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church when she and her friend moved to Mankato after retiring from teaching.  Retirement offered her the opportunity to spend more time sewing and quilting.  This included the banner, table covers, and skirts for all the River Bend Bells tables.  Jean is the reservist for River Bend Bells ringing in any position as needed.
Wendy Greiner – Wendy directs the children’s Carol Choir and the Carol Bells at Centenary United Methodist Church and is the Artistic Director of River Bend Bells.  Wendy works at Q Computers, Mankato, where she teaches computer classes, designs websites, and troubleshoots computer software issues for their customers.  Her hobbies include keeping aquariums and building dollhouse miniatures.  Her husband, Rock, and teenage sons, Travis and Dustin, fill her life.
	Marge Jensen – Margie moved to Rapidan in 2003 with her husband, Bill, and dog, Nikki.  They live next door to their daughter and her family (2 children).  Two other sons and a daughter-in-law live in Atlanta, Georgia.  They lived in Brookings, SD for 35 years.  Margie was a Nursing Home Administrator and Bill taught Chemistry at SDSU.  Margie rang bells at First United Methodist Church in Brookings for 16 years and has been ringing at Centenary UMC since 2003.  She joined RBB in 2004. Margie enjoys tennis, line dancing, reading, gardening, and biking in addition to handbells.
Jo Larson –Jo is the Music Coordinator for Belgrade United Methodist Church where she directs 3 handbell choirs and shares in directing the chancel choir.  Jo is on the board of RBB serving as associate director in charge of music selection. She shares her music hobby with her husband, Ron.  They also enjoy gardening and traveling. .
	Ron Larson – Ron’s hobbies include gardening, cooking, traveling, and music. Ron sings in the church vocal choir and has rung handbells for over 25 years. Currently serving on the RBB board as Treasurer seems appropriate since he is also treasurer for Belgrade UMC and the Riverblenders Barbershop Chorus, of which he has been a member for almost 30 years.
Martha Lindberg – Martha works as a computer support specialist and has taught music part-time in Mankato since 1991.  In addition to playing oboe for the Mankato Symphony and other local groups, she plays recorder and tin-whistle for Amy Kortuem's Irish band. Martha has been ringing for 10 years and is currently directing the handbell choir at Centenary United Methodist Church. She enjoys growing flowers as a hobby. She and her husband, John, have 3 children. .
	Gene Mensing - Gene is a Senior Network Engineer for HickoryTech and enjoys genealogy, reading, and computers. He has been ringing bells since 1995 and serves on the River Bend Bells board in charge of equipment maintenance.  He and his wife, Judy, have 4 children and 3 grandsons.
Sue Moore – Sue retired after 36 years in education and continues to dabble in education related endeavors.  She enjoys having more time to travel, read, and go out to lunch!  She and her husband, Denny, have an extensive bell collection and actively pursue this hobby as members of the American Bell Association. As president of the River Bend Bells Board of Directors, Sue rings the meetings to order using unique bells from her collection. She has been ringing bells since 1990 at Christ the King Lutheran Church.
	Ellen Petersen – Ellen has been a Bell Choir Director at Christ the King Lutheran Church since 1996.  She is also the accompanist for the adult choir.  She and her husband, John, are parents to two daughters and grandparents to five.  She also enjoyed counted cross stitch and hardanger.
Jane Sletta - Jane met her husband, Con, in the church choir over 45 years ago and since then, has been very active in the music program at Bethlehem Lutheran where she has been the adult handbell director for over 15 years.  Jane recently retired as the Executive Director of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, but continues to be an advocate for the arts.  She is a home economist and a former Blue Earth County extension educator and has also worked as a catering consultant and in retail sales.  She and Con have 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 2 granddaughters, and 2 granddogs. (one named Gretta Sletta!)
	Ann Stewart - After retiring from NSP/Xcel Energy, Ann continues to fill a very busy calendar with a variety of activities. Her hobbies include extensive community and church volunteer work, sewing & crafts, movies, golfing and taking care of the yard and flowers. She has been a bell ringer since 1990 at Christ the King Lutheran Church. Ann is blessed with 3 adult step-children, 17 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.
Marnie Werner - Marnie is the project manager for the Center for Rural Policy and Development in St. Peter.  Marnie enjoys running, reading, her job, movies and hanging out with friends.   After ringing in Golden Valley for 10 years, Marnie moved to Mankato and began ringing with River Bend Bells.  Marnie is a member of Peace Lutheran Church and  looks forward to the possibility of handbells as a part of their program in the future.
	Bonnie Windschitl – Bonnie and her husband, Warren, have three children, 2 daughters-in-law, and one grandson, and 4 cats. She is an administrative assistant at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and serves as secretary on the River Bend Bells Executive Board.  Music, reading, and road trips in the convertible or on the Harley-Davidson, are among the hobbies Bonnie enjoys. She has rung bells since 1993, and is very involved in the Music Ministry Program at Our Savior's Lutheran where she directs the high school handbell choir.