 The plaque was a special award presented to thank Darlene for all
her hard work and efforts on behalf of the Railsplitting Festival.
On the plaque was a picture of her late mother, Evelyn, who was an
active member with the festival until her passing in June.
The plaque, which read "Dedicated to the memory of Evelyn Begolka,"
was a complete surprise to Darlene. It took her a moment to gain her
composure as association members applauded. When she did, the
meeting came to order. After all, the 40th annual National
Railsplitting Festival is only 11 months away and there is plenty of
work to do to make it the best ever.
By accounts of several board members, Begolka is not only a hard
worker, but she is a friend. Railsplitter is a big weekend when our
heritage with Abe Lincoln becomes a celebration for the community to
enjoy. Darlene is a friend they rely on to make sure all the little
things that make up the major festival get handled and readied.
Planning meetings are in the lounge at St. John United Church of
Christ, and on Monday evening the chairs around the table, as well
as couches, found members ready to begin another year's
preparations. The meetings are always relaxed -- comfortable, one
might say -- but that doesn't mean the business at hand doesn't get
attended to. It just means Begolka's relaxed manner carries over to
the board.
Darlene isn't one to have a gavel in her hand or tell people what
is going to happen. Rather she elicits and solicits opinions and
ideas from every association member and enjoys the group discussion
of the ideas.
As president of the Railsplitter Association, Darlene Begolka is
always willing to listen to everyone's ideas, even when one is put
out as a joke.
Tourism director Geoff Ladd, who is a liaison of the association,
tells how he tried to make a joke, and Begolka and the committee ran
with the idea. "Mount Pulaski had a motto, ‘Together we can,' so my
being a poor punster, I joked: How about we have a canning float in
their fall festival?"
Begolka and others liked the idea, and that year a float showing
some of the board members doing canning in the parade was a hit.
"I'm not sure if anyone got the pun," Ladd laughed, "But it was a
very popular float and brought a lot of attention to the
Railsplitting Festival."
Begolka's style of leadership offers everyone a voice. "We have a
very good group," she said. "And I need to give credit where credit
is due. You can always count on the members. Whenever any of them
have something to do, they get it done."
Association members echoed that they too can depend on Darlene to
handle what needs to be done.
From time to time Begolka has had to make what she calls
executive decisions, but she tries to always have everyone involved
with the festival's programs. "I have called special meetings," she
said. "I want everyone to know what's going on. I could have made a
decision, but I prefer to keep the board involved in decisions."
Begolka comes by her love for the Railsplitting Festival both
genetically as well as from early experience.
Her father, Ray, was very involved in the festival for 25 to 30
years. Her mother, Evelyn, also became involved, and the festival
became a family affair that includes Darlene's brother Don.
[to top of second column] |
As a member of Beta Sigma Phi, Darlene sold lemonade shake-ups at
the festival. After those years were over, she stayed active in the
festival in several capacities and has been the president of the
Logan Railsplitting Association for the past five years.
When asked if she ever pondered saying she has been involved long
enough, she said sometimes things can become frustrating, as with
anything as large as the National Railsplitting Festival. But then
she recalled a story where she saw a family at a local eatery and
asked them if they went to the festival. The parents said yes and
that they couldn't get their children to leave because they were
having so much fun.
"That's what it is all about. Even at 90 (years old) Dad would
haul bales of hay around at the fairgrounds," Darlene said. "I saw
how we as a family could all do as much as we could to promote our
heritage with Abe Lincoln. It's important that kids realize there is
more to history out there, more to life than just cell phones and
computers. The festival can show them what it was like in the time
of Abe Lincoln."
Begolka has been in the office at St. John's for 25 years, and
that means she is involved to some degree with everything that goes
on at the busy church.
Germanfest is a community favorite, and although Begolka isn't on
the committee, she says she is happy to help out with whatever they
need help with. To be sure she has no free time of her own, she is
the director of the church's adult and children chime choir too.
St. John Pastor Rich Reinwald didn't know where to begin with his
praise for Darlene. "She is such a wonderful secretary," he said.
"Darlene is almost like an orchestra conductor -- no, better yet,
like an accomplished juggler. She can handle so many things at once
and do them all well. She is always willing to help, she has a
wonderful phone presence, and she is actively involved in so many
things at our church."
The next festival will be the 40th anniversary, and Darlene and
the board have some big ideas on how to make it an extra-special
year. It is too early to state what the new plans are, but it is
certain that they will be ready when the September 2010 weekend
festival rolls around again.
That's what Darlene Begolka and the Logan Railsplitting
Association members do. They work all year to make sure everything
is just right for another National Railsplitting Festival. It is
this dedication to one of our community's signature events that
causes us to personally salute Darlene Begolka as the Personality of
the Week.
[By
MIKE FAK]
(Logan Railsplitting
Association)
 |
