About Us
Abilities in Harmony is an adaptive show choir camp started in Onalaska, WI by Sierra Lyon. She was inspired to provide an opportunity for middle and high school students with the chance to experience the joy of show choir after living with a family who have two children that love to sing and dance, but are not able to participate in show choir because of their disabilities. She worked with her former show choir director, Richard Moses, to start a camp for students with special needs in the Coulee Region.
The first camp was in the summer of 2017 with eight students participating, and the camp was so loved by all who were involved that a winter camp was held the following February with 16 students participating. The camp is growing in size and popularity which has led to the camp being split into a middle and high school camp. There have been six camps held at Onalaska High School thus far. After the first camp, Sierra began receiving inquiries from across Wisconsin asking if this opportunity could be brought to their community. In the summer of 2019, there were camps held in Neenah, Wisconsin, De Pere, Wisconsin, Holmen, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Abilities in Harmony has made a strong effort to bring the camps to as many communities in the Midwest as we could. The organization has had many impactful interactions outside of the La Crosse area, but the impacts of COVID-19 and external demands on our directors has led the board of directors to change the scope of the organization to provide programming only in the La Crosse community and limit our support in other regions. Adaptive show choir camps will continue to be held semi-annually at Onalaska High School for students from any community. Additionally, the organization will provide support to other communities looking to bring a similar opportunity to their area through:
The organization is now a tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization. Contact us if you would like further information.
The first camp was in the summer of 2017 with eight students participating, and the camp was so loved by all who were involved that a winter camp was held the following February with 16 students participating. The camp is growing in size and popularity which has led to the camp being split into a middle and high school camp. There have been six camps held at Onalaska High School thus far. After the first camp, Sierra began receiving inquiries from across Wisconsin asking if this opportunity could be brought to their community. In the summer of 2019, there were camps held in Neenah, Wisconsin, De Pere, Wisconsin, Holmen, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Abilities in Harmony has made a strong effort to bring the camps to as many communities in the Midwest as we could. The organization has had many impactful interactions outside of the La Crosse area, but the impacts of COVID-19 and external demands on our directors has led the board of directors to change the scope of the organization to provide programming only in the La Crosse community and limit our support in other regions. Adaptive show choir camps will continue to be held semi-annually at Onalaska High School for students from any community. Additionally, the organization will provide support to other communities looking to bring a similar opportunity to their area through:
- Grants for initial camp start-up costs
- Detailed informational documents recommending procedures for successful camps
- Consultation with our camp and organization directors
The organization is now a tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization. Contact us if you would like further information.
Board of Directors
Sierra Lyon
Executive Director and President Sierra is a 2020 graduate from Viterbo University with a Bachelors of Business Administration with a major in Marketing. She was a member of Onalaska High School show choirs for four years. |
Jody Lyon
Treasurer Jody is a volunteer with Abilities in Harmony, the North American Squirrel Association, River City Waterski team, and Upstream International. She enjoys waterskiing, traveling, camping, hiking, and water sports. |
Anne Snow
Secretary Anne Snow is the Founder and Executive Director of the Children's Museum of La Crosse, she lives on a small farm with her husband David and enjoys volunteering, running and traveling. |
Lynn Sturm
Lynn and her husband moved to the La Crosse area 35 years ago and have appreciated the beauty of this region each and every day. She retired a few years ago, after working 30 years as a registered nurse in a pediatric/neonatal intensive care unit. She has 2 married adult daughters and 3 grandchildren, soon to be 4, and though they don’t live in the lacrosse area, we try to spend time with them as much as we can. She enjoys some type of daily physical activity, reading, traveling and living on the Mississippi River. She is currently a member of the La Crosse City Vision Foundation board and the Viterbo community advisors board, and is excited to be a part of the Abilities in Harmony Board. |
Joel Dettweiler
Joel Dettwiler has been a Financial Planner since 2016. He has earned a Charterted Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC) designation from the American College of Financial Services. Joel is also a partner with Charterpoint Financial in La Crosse, WI. Joel serves with many local organizations serving individuals with special needs. Joel spent 20 years playing and coaching college football. Residing in La Crosse, WI with his wife and two daughters, Joel and his family enjoy boating, hiking, volunteering and enjoying all the great businesses and community events that the city of La Crosse has to offer. |
Melissa DeBoer
Melissa has been involved in high school show choir through her own children’s involvement for the past 9 years, holding a variety of leadership roles within the parent board. She has also been involved in church music for many years, and is excited to support music and dance in yet another capacity with the adaptive show choir. |
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Jen TeBeest
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Dan Odenbach
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