Woman's quick action secures future of marching band
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By JEFFREY HAGE jeff.hage@lee.net
Saturday, October 14, 2006 8:51 PM CDT
LAFAYETTE — Megan MacLaughlin-Barck turned on the television news Oct. 16, 2005 and immediately wanted to help.
“I knew I had to do something,” said MacLaughlin-Barck, a former Chi-Hi band member who, with her husband Tim, owns Chippewa Falls-based Larson Construction.
As news of the crash unfolded, a devastating feeling began to overcome MacLaughlin-Barck. As a former band member, she knew who sat where on which bus. The thought that Doug and Therese Greenhalgh would be killed was too much for her.
She was called into action by a phone call from close friend, Darren Senn. Within 24 hours of the crash, the two former band members came up with the foundation for the Greenhalgh fund that benefits the marching band.
“A bunch of former band students came out of the woodwork, took time out of our busy lives, and all came together in that tragic moment,” she said.
MacLaughlin-Barck says it’s something beautiful that came out of something so terrible.
“This reunion of friends who came together for a common goal was a rewarding experience — and it was somewhat healing for us, too,” she said.
Their work was also rewarding for people who were crying out for ways to express themselves.
“People wanted a place where they could express their thoughts. The fund gave them a common goal and a common purpose,” MacLaughlin-Barck said.
The fund gained amazing support. Within weeks, enough money was raised to fund an endowment in the Greenhalgh name.
The first contribution from the fund was presented to the Chippewa Falls Music Association during the “Music Along the Chippewa” home show.
This past spring, Megan and Tim were instrumental in organizing a benefit concert that included the introduction of a musical piece commissioned to honor Doug Greenhalgh’s memory. It’s an event Megan remembers as being “absolute magic.”
Through the process, MacLaughlin-Barck learned much about the area she calls home.
“There are so many people whom I didn’t know cared about our music program,” she said.
“It was evident that this wasn’t just about the people in the marching band, but about something the community had learned to love and wanted to see continued in our community.”
In the year since the crash, MacLaughlin-Barck is convinced that Greenhalgh’s legacy will continue to live on.
“People had such a strong love for Doug, and someday we’ll find that because of the endowment, Greenhalgh will be a name remembered like Irvine, Casper and Rutledge,” she said.
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