Tyler Sailsbery, owner of The Black Sheep restaurant in Whitewater, WI, was awarded the first-ever WUL Hometown Hero Award on Friday for “generously nourishing our community with delicious donated meals during the COVID-19 Crisis.” 

Tyler has donated 2,550 meals during COVID-19, and plans to continue to help feed people in need as long as he is able to.

Tyler said, “I am humbled, grateful, and blessed to receive this award but also to support the community in this capacity, a community that has supported us and developed me through the years.  We owe a lot to our community, and this just felt like the right thing to do.  These are our friends, our peers—our neighbors.  I have always had a desire to feed people and, through that, foster meaningful experiences and relationships, and I am thankful that I have been able to continue to do so and to have a positive impact on so many lives.  A very large thank you goes out to my fantastic staff that has been able to help us adapt as a business to these turbulent times, as well as so many others who have donated their time, talents, and treasure for this cause.  Again I am honored and humbled by this award, and I am continually impressed by the resilience of our community. I am a small cog in a machine of people who dedicate themselves daily to make Whitewater better. Together we are stronger.”

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.  

Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age, should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com