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well. Without that move, the people would have been indistinguishable from the dark landscape.
Wedel said she and her husband are both kind of nerdy— but then she corrected herself and said that he was nerdy, but she was“ nerd-adjacent,” a phrase she heard from astrophysicist Phil Plait, who leads the couple on star-gazing excursions.
Despite all her work and hobbies, Wedel finds other ways to give back.
She recently helped a group of veterans process donations for families from Afghanistan who are relocating to the U. S. Wedel said she had always supported the military, in part because her father served in the U. S. Navy. She also wanted to engage in some positive work to help counteract all the negativity, arguing, and people politicizing things that has been going on since the pandemic.
She helped Team Rubicon, a nonprofit founded by a group of former military veterans who use their skills to aid people after disasters. Wedel worked in a warehouse, processed donations of items such as soap, shampoo, and baby formula, or helped sweep and mop— whatever needed to be done to keep processing donations.
Nancy Crocker, a Nashville Town Council member, said Wedel brings positivity and professionalism to everything she does.
“ I’ m pretty sure I have never seen her without a smile on her face,” Crocker said.
“ She has a willingness to contribute to her community and freely gives of her time … but she knows her boundaries and does not agree to do more than she is able,” she said. Crocker also marveled at Wedel’ s photography skills.“ She has taken many pictures of me and all of them are better than anyone else has ever taken. No idea how she does that,” she said.
Wedel shot photos for the music center for eight months before the pandemic hit. She and her husband were fortunate because they could work from home and spend time in beautiful Brown County, but she missed photographing concerts and seeing the community come together.
She has enjoyed the return of live shows at the Brown County Music Center. She shot photos in October at the Melissa Etheridge concert, one of the first after restrictions were eased.
“ It was such a cathartic experience,” Wedel said.“ Everybody [ came ] there just for good music.”
Her Facebook page is Michele Wedel Photography. •
32 Our Brown County Jan./ Feb. 2022