‘This is what humility looks like’
Rose Ann Kubicek hands the microphone to her husband Bruce – who is more accustomed to presenting the Senior Citizen of the Year award than receiving it. The couple was honored as the 2025 recipients during last week’s Steele County Free Fair. Staff photo by Kay Fate
-Rose Ann Kubicek, Senior Citizen of Year
As usual, Bruce Kubicek was on the stage during the Senior Citizen of the Year program at the Steele County Free Fair.
But: “I’m on the other end this year,” he said. “It’s a little humbling.”
Kubicek and his wife, Rose Ann, were named the 2025 award winners, something that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows them.
“This event honors them, because they’ve let everyone else go first,” said Dom Korbel, president of the Exchange Club of Steele County, which has selected the honorees for many years.
“They’re the model of humility,” he said of the Kubiceks. “That’s my message: This is what humility looks like, letting everyone else go first, when we all know how deserving this couple is.”
Not if you ask Rose Ann.
“I probably felt like I wasn’t deserving of it,” she said of her reaction to the announcement. “There’s a lot of people that are more deserving. I was humbled. We’ve been fortunate in these senior years to have the health to do it.”
Still, “I can tell I need to do a little bit less, now that I’ll be 80,” she said of her Aug. 16 birthday.
Nonsense, Korbel said.
“When I read you their accomplishments, they are maybe one of our greatest honorees we have ever had, and the impact they have made on this community – I am thrilled to be the one on the mic today to honor Bruce and Rose Ann.
“Quite frankly, I’m surprised we got them up on stage when they’re this busy,” he said.
“As Dom said, this does feel a little weird to me, because I was always over there, handing these plaques to other people,” Bruce Kubicek said. “I’m really humbled to receive mine today, and join a very outstanding group of people that have received these over the years.
“I looked it up, and this award’s been given out since the ‘70s, so there’s a long list of really deserving senior citizens in Steele County.”
From a standpoint of “impact and recognizing their value to the organizations, all they’re trying to do is go where God sends them,” Korbel said.
“To never ask for anything more than the gift you get by volunteering? That’s special,” he said.
“It’s been a long time coming to have them up here, and we’re thrilled to make them our Senior Citizens of the Year.”
Steele County’s Senior Citizens of the Year
Bruce Kubicek:
- Served as District 1 Steele County Commissioner from 2000-2014
- Lector and eucharistic minister at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Litomysl
- Synod committee at Holy Trinity
- Chairman of Litomysl Summer Festival
- Organizes annual ham and turkey Bingo at Holy Trinity
- Saint Serra Club member and trustee
- Knights of Columbus member; helps with Tootsie Roll drive and Smokin’ in Steele
- Blooming Prairie American Legion member, chaplain and past commander
- BP American Legion Honor Guard member
- Exchange Center for Family Unity former board member
- Volunteer at Community Pathways
- Steele County Exchange Club director, past president
- Steele County Free Fair parking attendant
Rose Ann Kubicek:
- Lector and member of Council of Catholic Women at Holy Trinity Church, Litomysl
- Synod committee at Holy Trinity
- Chairwoman of Litomysl Summer Festival
- Collects, organizes more than 4,000 prizes for Litomysl festival
- Winona/Rochester Diocesan Council of Catholic Women’s past president
- Saint Serra Club member, trustee and vocations VP
- Regent for the Catholic Daughters of America, Owatonna Court
- Offers Mother’s Day and Father’s Day spiritual bouquet cards for donations for homeless shelter
- Blooming Prairie American Legion Auxiliary member, legislative and veterans affairs chairwoman
- Organizes Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life booth at SCFF
- Gives “12 Days of Christmas” gifts to those who have had a challenging year
- Steele County Free Fair parking attendant