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Notable People in the History of The Good Fight

Many people over the years have had an impact at The Good Fight, and we want to recognize some of them here. 

Joseph D. Clements

Joseph D. Clements

Joseph D. Clements

The Joe Was Just Joe Foundation donated the computers, now used as a resource for many students who attend The Good Fight. 

Joe was just Joe.

“Joe was unique; he was his own person,” says his father, Dave Clements. “He was smart, loved music, and was a computer geek. He knew more about computers than his high school teachers. They told us that in parent teacher conferences.”

To the outside world, Joe was an ordinary teenager. But inside, he was battling depression. It proved to be more horrible than any of his loved ones could imagine. Joe committed suicide at age 19.

Anthony "Tony" Christopher

Anthony "Tony" Christopher

Anthony “Tony” Christopher

The game center at The Good Fight is dedicated and named after Tony Christopher.

Tony was a long term volunteer at The Good Fight. He enjoyed playing pool with the kids and sharing words of wisdom to help them overcome the challenges in their life.

For Tony it was simple, “I’m here for the kids…Period”.

Kathy Freidhof

Kathy Freidhof

Kathy Freidhof

Kathy has been apart of The Good Fight journey since the beginning. Over the past 4 years she served as a receptionist for the program. Being the first point of contact for staff, students, volunteers and visitors. Greeting everyone with a smile and a ecstatic “hello”. Many people had no idea that all of Kathy’s time here was all volunteer work. We could not be more thankful for the time she committed to the organization, during her time at the front desk. 

Thomas Taylor

Thomas Taylor

Thomas Taylor

The Library at The Good Fight is named after Thomas Taylor.

More information coming soon.

Larry Shapiro

Larry Shapiro

Larry Shapiro

The Education Center at The Good Fight are named after Larry Shapiro.

Larry Shapiro is a former english, creative writing, and drama teacher. He was born in 1944 in Chicago, IL. and graduated from Niles West High School in 1963. He then went on to graduate from the University of Illinois (Chicago) in 1967.

Larry taught at Crane High School from 1967-1971, and then at South Shore High School in Chicago from 1971-1987.

In 1987 Larry joined the Chicago Transit Authority as top assistant to Gloria Chevere, who was appointed chief administrative officer for CTA. Became a procurement engineer for CTA until retirement in 1998.

Larry became a suburban representative in 1998 to Congressman Danny Davis. He served as staff person to State Representative Karen Yarbrough from 2000-2008. In 2008 Larry started working for Rep. Yarbrough’s husband, Maywood Mayor Henderson Yarbrough, in the village of Maywood as communications director and government liaison from 2008-2013. He is the consultant to the village of Maywood for senior activities from 2013 to present.

Bob Witte

Bob Witte

Bob Witte

The Art & Music Center at The Good Fight is named after Bob Witte.

Bob Witte is a local, award-winning artist whose work has been shown at numerous juried exhibitions throughout the United States, and has been featured in “Splash 19,” a book published in May 2018. He specializes in figurative watercolor painting.

“When I saw the article in the La Crosse Tribune about the great work that The Good Fight Community Center was doing under the aegis of Nathaniel Coleman Jr., for the youth of our community, I knew that I had to get involved in some way. What initially started out as an opportunity to paint these young people doing any variety of boxing-related activities grew into just general paintings of the human-related goings on at the center. From there it was natural extension to offer painting lessons to members and pursue a calendar project. While all of this has offered me an opportunity to expand my painting repertoire, that pales in comparison to the privilege of meeting and interacting with all the teen members and adult staff who attend this exemplar of community service in La Crosse. I feel I have received much more in this exchange than I have given.”