Mr. Oskaloosa

STORY

BY: CHANNING RUCKS, STAFF WRITER

The world is full of experts in just about every field imaginable. There are experts to predict the weather, provide medical care and teach children who will one day grow up to be the experts of tomorrow. The Mahaska Chamber and Development Group decided that 2023 was the perfect year to honor Vinnie Provenzano for his expertise in a very special and unique field — Oskaloosa itself.

Provenzano has been an Oskaloosa resident for most of his life. He moved to Oskaloosa in 1973, graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1982 and worked as a custodian in the city’s school system since 1986, celebrating his retirement after more than 30 years of service in 2020.

It should come as no surprise that the Mahaska Chamber and Development Group chose to honor him with a special “Mr. Oskaloosa” at their annual award ceremony on Jan. 30 of this year.

“Every fall, we see nominations for businesses or individuals that have made an impact across Mahaska County,” says the chamber’s executive director, Deann DeGroot. “We always include a special award category, and that award is for exceptional achievement in a category that might not necessarily fit in one of our other categories that we have every year.”

Every chamber member is entitled to submit an idea for what the special award should be.

“It’s always fun to see what people think of for an award,” DeGroot says. “This was kind of a unique award, just because we’ve never had one like this, but when it was called Mr. Oskaloosa, it was like ‘Yeah, Vinnie.’”

“Those who know Vinnie know that he’s just everywhere,” she says. “He’s always stopping in here [at the chamber] and showing us the Hy-Vee deals and going around town, and he just knows everything that’s going on. It was just kind of a fun award, just a new category and a unique person to give an award to.”

Provenzano, for his part, sees the award as an opportunity to promote Oskaloosa.

“I think of myself kind of as an event planner for the town,” he says. “I said, ‘Now what’s the title [of the award] mean?’ They said, ‘It’s like the social mirror, the social emissary of the town. You do the fun stuff.’”

That description suits Provenzano well. He’s a self-proclaimed movie buff who likes to keep Oskaloosans “in the know” about new films that will be showing in town, posting trailers to his Facebook page. He’s the driving force behind “Vinman’s Movie Therapy Gathering,” a group of dedicated movie-goers who attend the Penn Central Theatre on Sunday nights, capping off the experience with a selfie.

“I’m a movie buff, a movie guy. I love movies,” he says, and true to form, one of his favorite movie venues is right here in Oskaloosa.

“The theater has brand new seats,” he says “They have leather-back seats … heated, reclining … If you went to Des Moines, you’d pay $10. You’re only paying $6 to $8 here, and there’s free popcorn on Tuesdays [with the purchase of a drink.]”

After unofficially beginning his “social emissary” work years ago as Oskaloosa’s resident movie critic, Provenzano expanded to posting about special events like city band concerts in the bandstand. Today, his city-wide coverage of “the fun stuff” has expanded to include new business openings and school award ceremonies. He also highlights useful resources like the city’s “Lawyers in Libraries” event, which provides free legal information to attendees, and even novelty events like an upcoming session of “Alpaca Yoga,” set to feature real alpacas.

Provenzano is also thrifty, always out to help his fellow Osky residents save a dime by scooping the loop for daily deals in Oskaloosa’s grocery stores.

“They don’t put Fareway ads in the Shopper, so I walk around and I’ll drop them off [at Smokey Row,] I’ll drop them off in the mall, I’ll drop them off in my square area so people could pick up a flier,” Provenzano says.

He also circulates the Hy-Vee fliers.

“I’m always like ‘Hey, this is what’s going on. Take advantage. Save that cash. I’m trying to save people some money in the pocketbook,” he says.

A few minutes spent scrolling on Provenzano’s “Mr. Oskaloosa: What’s Going On” Facebook page is a little bit like taking a walk through downtown Oskaloosa. It’s filled with news about the latest deals in town, promotional material for local businesses and fun events happening in the area. Provenzano’s savvy for highlighting most useful, entertaining and downright quirky events, combined with his long history in the community, has made him a much-loved figure in Oskaloosa.

Provenzano is especially loved by Oskaloosa’s school children, who still remember him fondly after his retirement.

“I was sitting here [at Smokey Row] my first year of retirement,” Provenzano says. “There was a white minivan, the window rolls down, and it’s one of my [school] kids from the middle school … He said ‘Vinnie, we don’t want to go back.’ I said ‘I’m sorry. You’ve got to learn.’”

After working for more than 30 years in the city’s school system, Provenzano places great importance on education.

“I try to preach to the youngest. I say ‘That education right there — get that education. Get that map. Do that thing,’” he says.

Imagination, Provenzano says, is the key.

“Keep growing your imagination,” he says.

“Your imagination is the best tool in creativity in this world to make it a better place.”

And that’s just what Provenzano tries to do in his own corner of the world — Oskaloosa. DeGroot says that his hometown pride and passion for community is what makes Provenzano stand out from the crowd in Osky.

“I think Vinnie just has so much pride in his community,” DeGroot says. “I think that’s the one word that comes to my mind, is pride. When you see him or you talk to him, he’s always so positive. He always sees the positive side and all the things that are happening, and is willing to go the extra mile too.”

DeGroot says that Provenzano’s pride and care for Oskaloosa has been known to spill over into volunteerism and enthusiasm for lending a hand, which is part of what makes him so special to the community.

“I know there’s several times we’ll be working on a project, and if he sees us on the sidewalk delivering something, he’s always willing to lend that hand,” she says. “He’s a great volunteer and he takes pride in his community.”

Provenzano is without a doubt an expert in all things Oskaloosa, but he’s also an expert in something even deeper — his love for community and desire to help people. For the one and only Mr. Oskaloosa, those might just be the best character traits of all.