Connection & Community
By: Michaela Feldmann
“My heart is here. It’s in my community”
For Pat Wojcik, South Sioux City is more than just a dot on a map; it’s a living, breathing family.
As she sits in Dakota Perk, it happens again and again. Someone walks by Pat’s table; they stop, smile and say hi. Then they start talking about committees, fundraisers, new businesses coming to town, the school bond they hope to pass, or how their family is doing.
“The conversation just always turns to this community that I love so much. My husband, Mike, jokes that it takes me two hours to run to the grocery store,” Pat says laughing. “Everyone just seems to know me.”
She’s built that community from decades of showing up: at PTA and board meetings, by delivering Christmas baskets to families in need, ringing bells on Dakota Avenue for donations, and wearing the infamous red coat of the South Sioux City Chamber of Commerce.
“A community is really only as strong as the people who step up,” she explains. “I love this community. I pretty much lived here my whole life. I graduated here, got married here, stayed here and raised our kids Brent and Lisa here.”
Not because she had to, but because she wanted to.
A Nebraska girl through-and-through, Pat grew up on a farm near Concord as the middle child between two brothers and two sisters.
“My parents, Jim and Janet, were really hard workers, and they instilled some of the greatest lessons in me. Like many others, though, they lost their farm during those tough years in the early 1970s. Through that hardship, they showed me what resilience looked like.”
That loss did not break them. It built the foundation of the community Pat knows today. Her parents moved them to South Sioux City, where her aunt and uncle lived. Her dad went to work every day at the concrete company while her mom worked at State Farm.
“She knew everyone and never judged anyone,” Pat says while smiling. “She was my dictionary or reference. I’d say, ‘Who used to live in that house?’ and I could still, until her last day, call my mom and ask.”
Pat says her kind and caring spirit comes from her mom.
“People always tell me I’m just like her. I take that as the biggest compliment, and she is, still to this day, one of my biggest mentors. She shaped so much of who I am today.”
While it may not be hard for Pat to carry on a conversation today, she insists she was once quiet and shy.
“People say, ‘Really, Pat? YOU were quiet?’ but I was. In high school, I actually took a speech class and that was great. Then I worked at a coffee shop inside what used to be Edwards IGA, a grocery store on Dakota Avenue.”
That job would shape who she is today. It helped break her out of her shell and also introduced her to her husband, Mike.
“He worked in the meat department, and we actually both attended South Sioux City High School, but we were never in the same building, so we never met. When he asked me out, I called my mom, and she said, ‘He’s such a good guy. Of course, you can go out with him,’ and we started dating in 1979.”
The two got married a year later.
“There was no urgency to get married. We were just in love.”
46 years later, Pat still has the biggest smile on her face when she talks about him.
“He really balances me out and is very easygoing,” Pat says. “I can be very go-go-go, and he takes time to smell the roses. He calms me.”
After they got married, Pat started working at a local bank as a teller, working there for seven years. Her next career focused on kids as a secretary at the middle school and then as a daycare provider when her two kids were young. But at a Home Interiors party, a woman said something that would change her entire career trajectory.
“She said, ‘You should get into real estate,’ and it really got me thinking.”
So Pat took the leap and got her license in 1997, at a time when the industry was still dominated by men. But she had something special: her connections.
“It just really took off, and I’ve loved every minute of it since,” she recalls. “One of the first families I helped was my neighbors across the street. To me, that’s what it’s all about: helping people achieve their dreams.”
But her most impactful work, she says, came from her eight years working for Ho-Chunk, helping first-time homeowners on the Winnebago reservation and helping create the first Home Buyer Program.
“Talk about fulfilling,” she exclaims. “They had tears in their eyes, and it was just a big step. A lot of homeowners told me they never thought they’d be able to own their own house because in the past they were not able to get mortgage loans and the whole process was more difficult. We take it for granted here.”
The work, she says, was not just a job, but a continuation of everything her mom taught her about caring for others and never drawing lines between communities.
“Helping make their dreams a reality gave me an extra sense of purpose. I remember one of the first times I gave keys to one of the tribal members. They had tears. I had tears. It just meant so much to be a part of their story.”
That’s why, for Pat, community is not just a slogan or tagline. It’s personal.
“It’s why I became a red coat ambassador for South Sioux City as well. I feel like my sense of community has just grown. I wanted to give back to the community that was so good to me.”
From there, her involvement grew to boards, committees and volunteer work: The South Sioux City Cardinal Foundation, Chamber Board, the Beautification Improvement Committee, Cardinal Festival Days, the Siouxland Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the Domestic Violence Board, the Housing Authority, Cardinal School Vision Committee and the Rivercade board, where she was named Commodore.
“I loved it. We have the opportunity to offer free family fun and keep traditions going. That was such an honor.”
Boards that bettered people: kids, students and the workforce. Most recently, Pat was elected to the Board of Governors for Northeast Community College.
“Initially, I didn’t think I belonged because I didn’t go to college. What could I offer? But I see now. It’s my advocacy, connections and community. When I’m at any of my board or committee meetings, I have the opportunity to change things for the betterment of the community I’ve lived in my whole life.”
But her favorite volunteer opportunity happens every December as she helps deliver Cardinal Baskets – hundreds of baskets filled with milk, turkey, ham, bread, and other necessities for families who might otherwise go without a Christmas meal.
“We take the money we make from ringing bells on Dakota Avenue, and we just try to make a difference and brighten up their Christmas. It is truly so inspiring. They are so thankful, and it just makes your heart shine.”
It all comes back to community and connection. Last year, that same community that she dedicated her life to showed up big for her.
“We lost both my parents last year, and they were in their 90s. But that church was packed full. People were lining up outside to pay their respects to me, my siblings and Mike,” Pat says, tearing up. “That left me speechless. What an incredible community to live in that gives back to you in such a meaningful way.”
When asked what keeps her going through hard moments, Pat doesn’t hesitate.
“I always think to myself, it could be worse. Look around at what other people are going through. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful family, a house, I don’t starve and I have the incredible support of the South Sioux City and Siouxland communities. I am truly blessed.”
That’s where community is built: in neighbors showing up for one another, families making memories together, volunteers stepping up and people choosing to care.
“Community is connection,” Pat says. ”Not everyone has a great community. But we do.”
More About Pat
Pat and Mike are proud grandparents to five grandchildren: Ronnie, River, Theo, Georgia and June. Pat says there is just something so beautiful about being grandparents, and she never takes any day
for granted.
Travel is one of Pat’s biggest passions. Their favorite trip was to Germany and Poland, where Mike’s parents were born. They visited where his mom grew up, where her parents were from and the prison camp where his dad was. Pat says she hopped behind the wheel and drove the Autobahn with Mike, one of the longest and most dense roadway networks in the world, stretching over 8,000 miles.
She loves to garden and read. Her favorite book, and one she just finished, is called, “When We See You Again.” But Pat’s taste varies. You’ll also find her reading suspense, murder mystery and serial killer novels.
God and her faith play a big part in community for Pat. It’s about treating everyone, no matter where they come from, with kindness, respect, giving and love.
Pat loves to get together with her siblings. In May, the five of them got together in Colorado at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre to see Santana and The Doobie Brothers.