Bob and Lois Neis Scholarship

Bob and Lois both grew up in Southeastern Minnesota and graduated from Wykoff Public High School. They were married in 1973. Bob attended Rochester State Junior College (1974 graduate) and then transferred to WSU to earn his degree in Business Administration in 1976. Lois went to Wartburg College in Iowa in 1971/72 and then transferred to WSU years later to complete her degree in Business Administration as a non-traditional student in 1987.

As a first-generation college student, Bob appreciated the college scholarships he received but also needed to work to cover the expenses of home and school. To do so, he took a part-time job at Hal Leonard Corporation in 1974. Bob accepted a full-time job with Hal Leonard after graduation and stayed there until the end of 2002. During those 28 years, he worked in several areas of the company rising to Vice President of Manufacturing. While in Winona, he was on the Board of Directors at Winona ORC as well as being a Winona State Foundation trustee. Lois worked in business in Winona for several different companies as an administrative assistant, office manager and sales coordinator.

Hal Leonard transferred Bob to their Milwaukee headquarters in 1997, but Bob and Lois maintained close ties with the Winona community over the years as Bob continued to be on the WSU Foundation serving on the audit committee and as the chairman of the scholarship committee until 2023.

Since taking an early retirement in 2003, they have been living in Wisconsin Dells and volunteering part-time to almost full-time for non-profit organizations. Bob is on the board of a local Christian Youth Camp and enjoys serving as handyman, electrician, budgeter, and landscaper while Lois does graphic arts projects for their church, individuals, and other non-profits. She too helps with the landscaping at the Youth Camp. They have appreciated the flexibility of retirement to visit family and friends in the Midwest and around the country. They have also been able to travel to almost all 50 states plus a little international travel doing a mission trip to Turkey in 2010.

Bob and Lois appreciate the value, opportunity, and perspective that a good education can bring to fulfill an individual’s life purpose and desire to support that through the WSU Foundation Scholarship program.