Schlienz, a senior loan officer at Availa Bank, has been involved in community support for nearly two decades now.

“To me, our community is a great place to be and a vibrant community where people are involved and give back,” Schlienz said. “So many things go on in our town that people take for granted and that wouldn’t happen without a tremendous amount of people putting in volunteer hours.”

A 1996 graduate of St. Edmond Catholic School, Schlienz attended Iowa Central before graduating from the University of Iowa in 2000. He spent a couple of years in Iowa City and Des Moines before receiving a job offer in Fort Dodge.

“It was a tremendous opportunity to both get back home and get into the banking field,” he said. “My wife, Jamie, and her family are from the Badger area so we knew we always wanted to move back home.”

One of the many ways Schlienz has found a way to give back is by being part of Shellabration. He serves on the board. The group recently hosted Bret Michaels for the 20th anniversary.

“A lot of people have the misconception that the artist we have for the show that year is the person we wanted, the date we wanted and that’s how it went down,” Schlienz said. “That is not at all how it goes down — ever. Being on the board and serving opens your eyes to the process of how it all works.

“I would say we put out eight to 10 offers to different artists with different dates and a wide-open range that we shoot for. It takes months and months just to confirm and find one that fits and works. It is a tremendous amount of work and those people who do the leg work, they put in enough for it to be a full-time job with zero pay.

“But the benefit comes from seeing the enjoyment in 6,000 to 7,000 people coming out, having fun and watching the show. That is what I enjoy and why I keep doing it.”

Schlienz is also involved in Noon Kiwanis Club, is on the Fort Dodge Community Rec Center Board, the Holy Trinity Parish council and the St. Edmond finance committee, school parish finance committee and development foundation boards.

He also coaches various middle school level teams, including volleyball and basketball, and is an assistant with travel teams.

“When I moved back, Jerry Patterson called me at the bank and asked me to come to a Kiwanis meeting with him,” Schlienz said. “Dennis Johnson picked me up for the group, and I joined right then and have been a member for the last 17 years. That really started me off.

“I just really enjoy (volunteering). I enjoy the networking and the social aspect. I’ve made a lot of really good friends,” he said. “But every year it becomes more and more of a challenge to get people to volunteer. I don’t know what the solution to that is, but I keep trying and asking. There are people out there willing to get involved; they just need to be asked.”