Franklin County Democratic Chair Catherine Crooks was recognized last month with a major honor from the Iowa Democratic Party. Crooks was honored with the Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame award for Outstanding Democratic Party Volunteer during the annual Democratic Wing Ding.
Having served as chair of the Franklin County Democratic Party for 10 years, the award celebrates Crooks’ years of dedication to Democratic causes at both the local and state level.
“I was very honored to receive the award. I did not know I was receiving it so, I am the chair of the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding. So they knew I would be at the event. They knew I would already be on stage. So I handled that event every year. So they knew I would be there and all of that. So they didn’t actually tell me that I was receiving an award until just before I went up on the stage. So it was a surprise to me. I knew people would be getting awards. I just didn’t know that I was going to be one of them, but no, I’m very honored to be recognized. I appreciate it greatly.”
The Wing Ding, held each August at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, regularly draws Democratic leaders, candidates and activists from across the state, and beyond, ahead of major election cycles. Crooks’ leadership has been key in organizing the event, bringing in nationally-recognized speakers, and raising funds to support Democratic efforts statewide.
“So this is actually the first year that we have had the Iowa Democratic Party partner with us and hand out their awards at our events. The Wing Ding though has been going on for 22 years. We have five counties that joined together to put on this event every year. We generally have several candidates that speak at the event and then we have some sort of keynote speaker who is usually somebody within the party or somebody who is a political activist or something like that. And then we have lots of socializing. This is an opportunity for people to actually mingle with the candidates ahead of time, get to know them a little bit on that level and just hear about what all about.”
This year’s Wing Ding featured two governor candidates, five U.S. Senate candidates, five U.S. House candidates and a secretary of state candidate.
Picture of Catherine Crooks speaking at last month’s Wing Ding in Clear Lake
