Each year, the Community Foundation honors Door County’s great philanthropists.
But how exactly do you define a philanthropist?
Donating to charity makes one a donor, and that is a beautiful thing to be. It’s critically important to our community that we all give to charity on a regular basis. But simply writing a check is not sufficient for a person to become a philanthropist.
Next to our love, the most precious thing we have to give is our time. A philanthropist is one who gives generously of both of these most valuable of treasures. They see an issue (or an opportunity) and cannot sit idly by while that condition exits in the world. So they must act.
A philanthropist is born when a donor’s passion compels them to give more of themselves than merely money.
They give of their time to the charities they care about. They share their wisdom as members of boards of directors. Philanthropists champion the causes that resonate in their heart and cannot help but openly share their passion with those around them. Their enthusiasm for community service is contagious.
Perhaps most important, a philanthropist is one who believes that the best way to lead is by serving others. These are the qualities the Community Foundation seeks in the people it honors.
Starting in 2026, the Philanthropist of the Year will now be known as the Richard D. Egan Philanthropic Leadership Award. Read more about this exciting name change.
Eric Paulsen
2025 Philanthropist of the Year
Eric Paulsen’s eyes have always been focused on his hometown. He grew up roaming the streets of Sturgeon Bay on his bike, enjoying the freedom and safety of life in a small town. It was a childhood that left an imprint on him, and he has spent much of his life making sure it’s around to leave an imprint on generations to come.
“He’s a Sturgeon Bay boy,” said his wife, Dee Paulsen. “He’s really proud of that and proud of his town. I think that he feels so dedicated to where he grew up and has always wanted to give back.”
Whether it’s through serving on committees and boards, giving to local fundraisers, or twisting arms himself, Eric – and Dee – have made giving back a cornerstone of their lives. That selflessness is being honored this year with the Door County Community Foundation’s annual Philanthropist of the Year award.
Someone to Count On
Dee calls her husband a consistent man.
“If you need something done, you call him,” she said, in her typical gentle but matter-of-fact manner. “He’s reliable, and right as rain.”
He first showed that side of himself to her shortly after they met at a party in Sturgeon Bay over Christmas break. He was attending Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and she was studying at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. They hit it off.
“Oh my god, he’s such a nice guy and so interesting, and kind of cute,” Dee recalled thinking.
But she was heading off to England to study abroad and he was heading to optometry school.
“I thought it was too bad I met him at the wrong time,” Dee said.
But Eric wasn’t dismayed. Almost every day, when she was staying in a youth hostel in England, she would find a letter from Eric. Eighteen months after they met, they were married.
Eric initially aimed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a dentist, but got wait-listed for a program. That decided it – he’d be an eye doctor instead.
Soon after college, Dee went to work at Sturgeon Bay Schools and Eric came home to work for Dr. C.L. Pfarr at his optometrist’s office, located in the same building as his dad’s dental practice on 3rd Avenue.
“I worked for him for a year, then he offered to sell me his practice and I said yes, and the rest is history,” Eric said.
He applied to one college, one optometry school (Illinois College of Optometry) and spent his career working in just one place.
“I wanted to live somewhere that I thought would be safe for my family, and Sturgeon Bay just felt like the place I belonged,” Eric said. “I guess you could say I knew what I wanted and stuck with it.”
That decision has been trickling down to the community for decades. Eric has spent his life surrounded by giving people, beginning with his father, Gorgas, and instilling the same ethic in him.
His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was young, and suffered a stroke that left her immobile. An “oopsie” baby who was 8 years younger than his next sibling, Eric helped take care of his mother for five years before she died when he was a senior in high school.
He was there at the founding of the Door County Community Foundation. He served on city committees, as a Sunday school teacher, and at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club. He’s been a committed Rotarian who has hosted, with Dee, multiple exchange students in their home.
Dee is just as giving, whether it be in her 21 years as a teacher at Sturgeon Bay Schools, as a founding board member of Write On, Door County, or as a support for students through outlets like the Clipper Collection, an annual compendium of student writing.
“One of the things about how they approach their philanthropy is they are so modest about it,” said Bret Bicoy, executive director of the Door County Community Foundation. “And yet they can convince so many people to follow their lead with such a modest voice. The way they go about doing this is so inspiring.”
The Paulsens have hosted events in their home to spread the word about worthy community causes, and Eric even used his birthday party as a fundraiser for the United Way. Amy Kohnle has worked with the Paulsens extensively in her 25 years at United Way of Door County.
“Eric is an amazing individual,” Kohnle said. “He joined the United Way board maybe a year or two after I started. We were really in a different growth stage. He was always fighting for what we needed to make smart and sound business decisions.”
But his impact isn’t just local. Paulsen has taken several mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic to provide free eye care to hundreds of people without access to it.
“I’ve been on three of those trips with him,” said Eric’s daughter, Annika, who has taken over the family optometry business. “In the U.S., access to care is often about affordability and insurance coverage. Down there, they don’t even have people and facilities to go to. Things that are easily treatable go untreated. That was a very rewarding thing to be a part of.”
Home in Sturgeon Bay, the Paulsens’ passions lie in people, particularly kids.
“Your true person is who you are when no one’s looking,” Annika said. “He’s very driven by a desire to do the right thing for people. He feels he’s been so lucky in his life that he has time and talent to give to other people, making sure everybody has a safety net in the community.”
It’s a responsibility he takes seriously for a community he takes pride in being part of. A community that is lucky this boy came home.
The Door County Community Foundation is pleased to honor Eric Paulsen as the 2025 Philanthropist of the Year.
Written by Myles Dannhausen, this story first appeared in the Door County Living magazine’s Philanthropy 2025 issue and in the July 3, 2025 Door County Pulse.
Previous Honorees
The Community Foundation would like to express its sincerest thanks and appreciation to the following sponsors which allow this event to be a free and honest celebration of giving:
GOLD SPONSORS
Door County Coffee
Heck Capital Advisors
John & Nell Herlache
Stephen & Lisa O’Hearn
BRONZE LEVEL
Debi & Fred Anderson
John & Rose Bykowski
John McGinnis & Lana Billeaud
Keith & Sherry Mutchler
Main Street Market
Nicolet National Bank
The Scattergood Family
OTHER DONATIONS
Bacon CPA LLC
Blahnik Investment Group Inc.
Door County Medical Center
Jeff & Barb Ottum
Kristen & Collin Jeanquart
Laurel & John Hauser
Natalie & George Gorchynsky
NEW Insurance Concepts
Pinkert Law Firm LLP
Rick & Nancy Jeanquart
Stoneman-Schopf Agency
IN-KIND SUPPORT
Maas Floral & Greenhouse
Popelka Trenchard Glass
