PINEDALE — The Sublette Local Board of the Wyoming Community Foundation recognized Sue Eversull with the Spirit of the Meadowlark Award for her numerous contributions to Sublette County at a special ceremony on Wednesday, June 12. The Pinedale Library’s Lovatt Room was filled to near capacity with well-wishers, friends and family. Fifteen local businesses donated food and beverages in honor of Eversull.
Eversull’s son Kenneth Petersen gave a moving tribute to his mom’s dedication to her family and community. He described watching her balance three jobs, each paying $3 an hour, and still finding time to be there for the kids.
The evening also featured a tribute video with clips from several folks who wanted to wish Eversull well and thank her for her service to the community.
Local Board Chair Mindi Crabb and Vice Chair Dean Loftus then presented Eversull with a beautiful acrylic award and handed her the microphone.
In typical fashion, Eversull thanked and gave credit to many community members for their support of her and her family. She said she feels blessed to live in such a caring and special place.
This is the Sublette Local Board’s fourth year honoring a recipient of the Spirit of the Meadowlark Award. The award is intended to recognize those in the Sublette area who give of their time, talent and treasure to make their community stronger through good times and bad. The Meadowlark was chosen as the namesake of the award because of its early arrival as winter is ushered out by spring. This bird is the first to start the work and build their community and they are often the bird that gives many of us a spark of hope for warmer months. Meadowlarks are one of the few birds that sing both while perched and in flight, much like those who willingly give both time and financial support in the effort to support the vision of their communities and favorite organizations.  John Audubon attributed the scientific name Sturnella Neglecta to Western meadowlarks, which in Latin means “overlooked.” The Sublette Local Board created the “Spirit of the Meadowlark” award to ensure those who give the most of themselves to their community are not overlooked but recognized for the good they do to build a better Wyoming.
Wyoming Community Foundation President & CEO Samin Dadelahi gave a brief overview of the organization during the ceremony. The Wyoming Community Foundation was founded in 1989 and has been making grants for over 30 years. They’ve granted over $100 million to nonprofits across Wyoming, nationally and internationally. They’ve made over 10,000 grants and made grants in all 23 counties of the state. WYCF is the umbrella organization for the Wyoming Afterschool Alliance, the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, and the Wyoming Wildlife Foundation.

Aside from grantmaking, the WYCF specializes in working with individuals to achieve their charitable goals through:
• Establishing Donor Advised and Donor Designated Funds;
• Supporting giving in specific geographic areas or to a specific cause
• Accepting and liquidating unique gifts such as mineral rights, gifts of property and appreciated stock
• Helping individuals leave a legacy to their community through estate planning.
• WYCF works directly with nonprofits to establish endowed funds to support their work; local examples include the Museum of the Mountain Man, the Pinedale Fine Arts Council and the Pinedale Preschool.
The Wyoming Community Foundation’s mission is connecting people who care with causes that matter to build a better Wyoming.
Local Board Chair Mindi Crabb then provided highlights about the local board:
The Sublette Local Board of WYCF was established in 2005 with a million-dollar endowment left by Shell Oil to support nonprofits in the county.
• The local board now advises on grants made from four different funds that support Sublette County, including the Gayle McMurry Kinnison Fund which Gayle established in 2000 to support charitable purposes in Health & Human Services and Arts & Culture.
• The local board has granted over $1.59 million since inception to over 60 different nonprofits in the area and granted over $89,000 in 2023 alone.
• The local board has been operating for almost 20 years and has been a major sponsor of the Pinedale Half Marathon.
• Local board members include Crabb, Sam Bixler, Tara Bolgiano, Emily Fixter, Ken Konicek, Greg Legerski, Dean Loftus, Barbara Lozier, Roger McMannis, Fred Palmer,  Sherri Redden and Karen Wenz.