Van Dyk receives 2018 Living Memorial Award

GLENWOOD CITY — The Living Memorial Award is an award presented by the St. Croix County 4-H Leaders’ Association, to an individual who puts a lot of time and effort into the St. Croix County Fair to make it a success each year.

This year’s recipient of the St. Croix County Living Memorial Award is Cindy Van Dyk. Van Dyk was nominated by Carole Schurtz of Glenwood City.

Cindy has dedicated many years to the St. Croix County Fair as an exhibitor, volunteer, St. Croix County Fair Board member and past treasurer.

She has stepped up to help wherever there is a need including taking on the registration process through Blue Ribbon when it was evident that the St. Croix County Fair needed to go to online registration, this was no small task and is an ongoing project. Each time there are updates to the premium book she has been the one who has to make sure all of those changes are entered into the Blue Ribbon system, the online registration program, whether they are small changes or the massive changes we have when we publish the new book every other year. The best part is she always seems to do this with a smile and for some reason apologizes for not doing it faster. She has been known to even take her computer on vacation with her, much to her husband’s dismay, and work on it while on the road.

Cindy is the fair registration guru and makes sure that all of the entry tags are ready to go on the day we all need them. She is like your mom and always there with a gentle reminder to, “Get your registration in by May 31, or you can’t show at the fair.” She happily prints out registration reports for all of the 4-H club general leaders so we too can voice that reminder to those that are still holding off.

Van Dyk is also a constant fixture in the Fair Office during the St. Croix County Fair answering questions, double checking entry tags, reprinting some, and even soothing frazzled nerves, not that we have any during the fair. She quietly shows up where she is  needed and is always willing to lend a helping hand or opinion along with a smile.

As big a project as the premium book is, that is just the tip of the iceberg for this lady. She has also served as the St. Croix County Fair Board, Treasurer. Yes, she is the lady that makes sure you get that $1.50 premium check after the fair, and constantly reminds your 4-H Leaders to make sure you deposit them before January 1. Because we all know what happens to the checks after that.

This wonderful lady also arranges the fair judges and patiently listens when we say please don’t hire that judge next year or wow that judge was amazing make sure they come back. This process starts right after the fair when the rest of us are going home to decompress, she is already getting ready and making notes for the next year’s fair.

There are so many other amazing things that Cindy has done and still does that they can’t all be listed here.

Non-4-H Leaders as well as 4-H Leaders are eligible to receive this award. Nominations are due to the UW-Extension Office in April every year and present on Sunday of the St. Croix County Fair. If you know someone deserving of this award the form can be found on the Extension website, https://stcroix.uwex.edu/4-h-youth-development/forms-applications/awards-and-nominations-forms/