Time, talent, treasure: Hudson family recognized for contributions11 min read

Andrew Nelson (foreground) and Nathan Krenik, back, gather gear for a Boy Scouts high adventure trip at St. Patrick, Hudson, in late June. (Photo by Joe Winter)

Joe Winter
Special to the Catholic Herald

Peers agree that Boy Scouting, a Knights of Columbus activity, is successful throughout the Hudson area because of Andrew Nelson, a local attorney and longtime leader who has recruited and taught most Scoutmasters, Pack leaders and volunteers.

Nelson, also one of the Scoutmasters, takes the lead role in ensuring budgets are appropriately managed and helps committee chairs manage their many volunteers.

It is part of what has been called an impressive array of service activities that also involve the committee as a whole, beyond the Knights of Columbus St. Croix Council 1762, which has more than 300 members and is the diocese’s largest council.

When Scoutmasters’ time of service is completed, Nelson always leads the transition team, and himself along with his whole family, including his wife, Joy, and five children, Aidan, Audrey, Alton, Adalyn and Aleah, continue their service through Scouting and other endeavors.

“Scouting thrives in Hudson, it doesn’t merely exist,” wrote Fr. John Gerritts, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Hudson. Unlike most areas, local Scouting numbers continue to increase.

Fr. Gerritts wrote the letter to nominate the Nelson family for recognition; in addition to being a top-five finalist for the Knights’ Wisconsin Family of the Year, in 2023 the Nelsons were named Superior Diocese Family of the Year. They recently were feted at a Mass celebrated by Bishop James P. Powers.

When speaking of the family, Joy Nelson is not to be overlooked. She is one of the co-chairs of the annual gala for the parish school that each year raises in excess of $120,000; she also pulls regular nursing shifts, in addition to her long hours of work in the field, at weekend Masses, which the whole family attends. Joy is currently a sponsor for an OCIA candidate, extending the scope of her faith.

“The Nelson family might not be the Cleavers of the 1960s, but Drew and Joy (and children) have found a recipe for promoting and living what is most important, sacred and holy within family life,” Fr. Gerritts wrote.

Diversifying, Nelson has been both head chef and Boy Scout waiter supervisor for the past three Knights’ Christmas parties, and more broadly, served as the Council’s lead advocate.

Nelson, currently a Scoutmaster after being a Cub Scouts Pack leader for seven years and instrumental in guiding its two troops and one pack, also takes the lead in its union with the Knights, along with his son, Aidan, to offer spring and fall highway cleanups in this area where high traffic volume generates a lot of trash.

The Nelsons’ dedication to the environment also extends to their high adventure program work through the Scouts, which the senior Nelson describes as a Scout recruiting tool. For the first time in mid-2023, one of the local troops made a trek to the Badlands of South Dakota. “Andrew’s efforts ensured a safe place for the youth to camp, sharing an understanding and appreciation of the monuments and the history of the National Park System, and guiding tours and off-time of the participating group,” wrote parishioner Raymond Hornung.

All the planning needed for one of these high adventure trips became apparent the night of Monday, June 23, in the lower level of St. Patrick’s Church, when Nelson and other leaders and Scouts discussed the dozens of batteries, supplies of food and other goods required, inserting it all into several backpacks each almost the size of a small Scout.

Through the local law firm he founded in 2009, Nelson donates money to local Knights Council for every individual referred by the Knights. Professionally, Nelson said it is his goal to make being an attorney more approachable.

For both the Knights and the Scouts, his legal expertise has been valuable.

“The most critical training Andrew oversees (for the Knights) is youth protection training to mitigate any type of child abuse from occurring,” Hornung wrote. “When others are uncertain, Drew is the resource we seek for clarification of the rules of safe Scouting.”

He adds that the scope of the activities extends to Knights appreciation dinners, Lenten fish fries, youth Christmas shopping and toy drives, food shelf sorting and loading and more.