Staff photo by Fritz Busch New Ulm Area Catholic Schools Hall of Fame 2025 inductees from left, Dan Herbeck, Kyle Fischer, Jim Seifert Jr., Laura and Pat Stadick and Zach Fischer.

NEW ULM — Six 2025 New Ulm Area Catholic Schools Hall of Fame inductees thanked their families, teachers, coaches and teammates for their success at the New Ulm Country Club Saturday.

Distinguished Humanitarian Awards went to Dan Herbeck and Jim Seifert Jr. Pat and Laura (Kuester) Stadick received Distinguished Achievement Awards and Distinguished Athletic Awards went to Kyle and Zach Fischer.

“I feel blessed and thankful. I’m incredibly grateful to be here today,” said Zach Fischer. “It takes a village. Coach Lux taught us to be leaders and better people. Coach Weier taught us no matter how bad it is, there is always opportunity to make things better. I thank teammates for friendships we will always have.’

Zach Fischer thanked his brother for pushing him to improve and thanked his parents for their support.

Cathedral Football Coach Denny Lux said Zach Fischer’s strong family values led him to do things like lift weights with teammates before going hunting.

“He understood what it takes to win,” said Lux.

Cathedral High School Activities Director Alan Woitas cited some of Zach Fischer’s career statistics including 131 career RBIs he said a third-best in Minnesota High School League history plus a .402 career batting average and 41 goals and 30 assists in high school hockey.

Kyle Fischer appeared choked up with emotion, then spoke.

“The friendships we have over the years mean a lot to me,” he said.

Former Cathedral High School Baseball Coach Bob Weier called Kyle Fischer’s backhanded defensive ability “the best I’ve ever seen. I learned it came from his dad relentlessly working with him in the backyard. His pitching record was 19-1. He hit .400 and had great ability to put the ball in play.”

Herbeck (Class of 1975) said he was surprised to receive an award.

“After I got the call about it, I thought I didn’t deserve it. I thought they called the wrong guy. There are more humanitarian people than I in my family,” he said. “New Ulm was a great town to grow up in. There is a strong feeling of everybody caring for everybody. Lots of kindness and understanding. I want to honor a classmate of mine, Jim Seifert. He’s been there for me for the last 60 years.”

Seifert also spoke humbly.

“It’s really fun to be here around so many friends,” he said. “This recognition is a complete surprise to me and greatly appreciated. I could not have had better parents and siblings. My teachers here were models of professionalism and faith that showed me life was not about being self centered or self fullfilling.”

NUACS President Sr. Julie Brandt said Seifert understood faith as a moral calling, serving as president of the Friends of San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, (an organization positively impacting the lives of more than 25,000 people).

Pat and Laura Stadick founded G & S Manufacturing in Courtland. Pat Stadick is a certified welding instructor. Laura is an accountant who also does safety, real estate and community relations work.

“Sometimes God lead you in a direction you never imagined,” said Laura Stadick. “We always relied on NUACS to meet our kids educational, spiritual and mental needs. That’s really important today. We’ve been in business 31 years and thank everyone who helped us. Our employees and customers, even our competitors sometimes offered to help us. There are a lot of good people out there. You just have to reach out and get to know them.”