The dinner, sponsored by the CPCS class of 2020, begins at 4 p.m. with the award presentation set for 5.

Loved by generations of graduates, Cyndy is a retired music teacher from Colton-Pierrepont Central School where both she and her husband, Tim, taught.

She is a graduate of Crane School of Music and continues to pursue her love of music by accompanying at local church services and as a member of the New Horizons Band where she plays in the percussion section.

Cyndy has been involved in almost every initiative to chronicle and enhance life in the community. She once said that she can “see the connection between the past, present, and future.”

She has been active in the Colton Historical Society, Colton Country Days, the Colton Planning and Zoning Boards, the Tourism and Beautification Committee, the Sunday Rock Legacy Project as well as the Potsdam College Council. North Country This Week once named her as Citizen of the Week in honor of her work in the Colton community.

Under her guidance Colton Country Day has grown into a week-long Colton Country Days with daily events throughout the community.

When her children told her about finding old ruins while exploring the area below Colton dam, she fell in love with the former Colton industrial site, working with Colton resident Leo Russell to document the factories that once existed there. Both she and her husband encouraged the formation of the Stone Valley Cooperative Recreation Area and were present at its dedication.

Her historical research on the School Bells of Colton provided the basis for further research by the Sunday Rock Legacy Project on the former 22 one-room school houses in Colton, Pierrepont and Parishville that became the Colton Pierrepont Central School District.

The gazebo and memorial bricks behind the Colton Museum are the result of her vision.

The Colton Tourism and Beautification Committee sponsors a series of outdoor summer concerts at the gazebo. At any event with music Cyndy will be present. For several summers Cyndy and Evelyn Riehl, both retired music teachers, encouraged community members to come and sing. They provided the music and community members raised their voices in song. The Sing Thing alternated its location between the Colton Town Hall and Sunday Rock in South Colton.

Contributing her time and resources to events and causes she is passionate about, she said, “Volunteering is very rewarding; it makes me happy.” She advises others to “Make yourself feel good by volunteering.”