Outstanding Citizen Award
Shelley Klein has been chosen as the sixth annual Outstanding Citizen of the Year recipient.
Shelley has lived in Big Lake for over 40 years. Following a successful career as a cardiac nurse for CentraCare in St. Cloud, Shelley retired alongside her husband, Mark, about 10 years ago and hasn’t been idle since. Serving the community with care, kindness and a friendly smile has always been Shelley’s approach to life. Shelley has volunteered with Friends of the Library for a couple of years, organizing annual book fairs and coordinating fundraisers. Additionally, Shelley helps co-lead the monthly activity with members of Options, doing a fun-themed craft and book reading. Shelley also volunteers at God’s Grub at the Saron Lutheran Church on a routine basis. Always eager to cook and share her love for food, you will find Shelley signing up and wrangling Mark for set-up, coffee and clean-up duties! Lastly, Shelley helps pick up and distribute free food to neighbors and people in need, ensuring everyone has a full fridge. If you had to quantify the results of Shelley’s years of service, it would range in the thousands of meals served, hundreds of pounds of food delivered and countless hearts touched by her generosity and kindness.
Shelley's passion for contributing to Big Lake is a great reminder of the power of community involvement. Shelley will be honored at a social gathering starting at 6 p.m. at City Hall and at the City Council Meeting following at 6:30 p.m. in the Big Lake City Council Chambers on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, where she will be formally presented with the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award. Thank you, Shelley, for all that you do. Your contributions truly make Big Lake a better place!
Previous Outstanding Citizens:
- 2025: Samantha VanSteenwyk
- 2024: Chad Ziegler
- 2023: Nick Paine
- 2022: Ketti Green
- 2021: Deb Johnson