Arens and Dirksens to chair this year's Bishop's Dinner

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

Back in January, it was announced that after a four-year hiatus the Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Schools is returning this fall and the event will be held every other year.

Slated for Oct. 11, two couples have been selected to serve as chairs of the event: Jeff and Jackie Arens of Le Mars as well as Matt and Allyson Dirksen of Danbury. 

“We are excited for the return of the Bishop’s Dinner and happy to help promote the recognition of our many educators and volunteers in the diocese,” said Jackie, who has worked as a paralegal and currently serves at the Plymouth County Attorney’s Office.

The Arens, who both graduated from Remsen St. Mary’s, are members of All Saints Parish in Le Mars. They have four children who have attended or are currently attending Gehlen Catholic School in Le Mars. Addison attends South Dakota State University and is a second Arens familyyear pharmacy student. Elizabeth is a sophomore at Iowa State University double majoring in accounting and business analytics. Grant is a junior at Gehlen Catholic and Jade is an eighth grader at Gehlen Catholic.

“Serving as a chair couple is an honor and another way to give back to not just Gehlen and All Saints, but to the entire diocese,” said Jeff, who has worked with Schuster Company since 2005 and is currently COO.

The Dirksens are members of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish of Danbury, Ida Grove and Mapleton. They have five children who have all attended Danbury Catholic: William, 13; Lauren, 11; Kate, 8; Leah, 5 and James, 3. Matt and his father attended the school and his mother is a graduate of Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City.

“We were honored to be asked (to serve as chairs) and are thankful for the opportunity to continue spreading the message about the good work of our Catholic schools in the Dirksen familydiocese,” said Matt, who operates the family farm with his father outside of Danbury, raising cattle and crops.

Matt has served on the school board for Danbury Catholic for a number of years and they both have been involved with the annual Danbury Catholic Dinner Dance Fundraiser (aka Blue Jay Ball.)

“I am grateful for its (the dinner’s) return and look forward to celebrating the school educator and staff award winners,” said Allyson, who is an attorney with the Heideman Law Firm in Sioux City and Mapleton. “I also appreciate that the event will benefit the school enhancement grants.”

The Arens have been involved in their community, church and school. Jeff is a member of the Diocesan School Board, Gehlen Catholic Finance Committee and is past president of the Gehlen Catholic School Board. He also is part of community and professional committees and boards. Jackie is president of the Gehlen Catholic Fine Arts Boosters and volunteers at Gehlen. She is a member of the Le Mars Arts Council Board. The couple were co-chairs the 2017 Gehlen Ball with Mark and Karen Nuebel.

In 2025, the Arens received the Spirit of Peter Gehlen Award for their work with Gehlen Catholic Schools.

Both couples praised the work of Catholic schools.

“We appreciate how Catholic values are intertwined throughout all subjects and aspects of learning and play,” said Allyson.

The Arens also expressed an appreciation for the values taught in Catholic schools.

“Catholic schools are the foundation that helps to form strong moral values, promotes community service and fosters academic excellence,” said Jeff. “We lead by example for our kids and others by volunteering our time, talent and treasures wherever we can to strengthen our schools and parish community.”

The chair couples are looking for to the Bishop’s Dinner and encourage others to attend.

“I personally am looking forward to hearing Bishop (John) Keehner’s address on Catholic schools,” said Allyson.

Jackie mentioned she would like to see people attend the dinner to show continued support for all the Catholic schools in the diocese.

“The people recognized at this event have spent countless hours giving their all to the education and support of our children,” said Jackie. “The Bishop’s Dinner gives us all a chance to recognize them for their hard work and dedication.”

Given that everyone is so busy these days, Matt mentioned he had not even realized the dinner had not been held the last few years.

“I think this goes to show that it is important to have the event so everyone can slow down for one night to celebrate our Catholic schools,” he said. “As a Catholic community, I think we should take every opportunity we can to showcase the good work of our schools.”

Tickets are $150 per person and are available for purchase online HERE. Discounted tickets for students will be available for $60 and school staff tickets are buy one, get one free. 

CLICK HERE to read a previously published article that contains more details about the dinner and a list of the award winners.

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