Dave Dunn believes good deeds are their own reward

Wasecan Dave Dunn, the recipient of the 2026 “Don Eustice Memorial Award for Community Service,” says he is flattered and touched by the recognition. The award was presented to him as a surprise during the Jan. 26 banquet of the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.

 

“I firmly believe doing something good is a reward in itself,” he observes, saying he was surprised to be selected and somewhat humbled that he is joining the company of others who have been named recipients since the award began in the 1970s–among them Ed Frederick (2024), Linda Grant (2019), and Gyles Randall (2014). 

 

“There are a lot of high flyers,” he jokes, “and I’m not quite sure how I fit in with the likes of them.”

 

During the January ceremony, Dunn was joined by his spouse of 16 years, Missy, and by good friends Bruce Boyce and Sally Takala. His niece, Stacey Schroeder, used her phone to stream the event to Dunn’s son, Andy, Andy’s wife Colleen, and his four grandchildren, all of whom were on a trip out of state at the time.

 

“They all knew I was going to be getting the award,” he recalls with a smile. “But I thought I was there to support someone else as she received it.

 

“When the railroad was mentioned, that’s when I realized I was the one being introduced, and everyone around me was giving me these knowing smiles.

 

“When I got to the podium, I knew I should say something. Others tell me I did fairly well, but honestly, I barely remember what I said.”

 

Having had a bit more time to think since then, he makes a point of saying he is especially honored to receive an award with Don Eustice’s name on it. Born and raised in Waseca, Dunn delivered newspapers to the law enforcement center while Eustice was sheriff and graduated from Waseca High School alongside Eustice’s son Gary in 1969. He also has vivid recollections of a time when Eustice spoke reassuringly with him after a motorcycle accident.

 

“He was a good man, and receiving an honor with his name on it is special,” Dunn recalls.

 

The only time in his life Dunn has made his home outside Waseca was during his college years, when he lived in Mankato earning the qualifications to become a teacher. After a short time with the Owatonna schools, he learned teaching was not for him, and instead began working as a locomotive engineer for the railroad operation in Waseca. He advanced to becoming “train master,” spending 15 years as “the only field manager for a business that ran 24-7,” and retiring in 2013 after 35 years with the railroad.

 

The elements a train master tends to, he explains, include knowing what trains and equipment are on the rails, where they are going, and making sure they are staffed with qualified individuals. “It’s a job with a lot of moving parts,” he says, mentioning that, as busy as he was with tasks during the workday, he also never knew when he would be called back–including in the middle of the night–to take care of some emerging circumstance. 

 

It was during that time, he comments, that he began one of the behaviors that was commented upon when he received the award in January. “I would be driving home in the dark and I would notice a streetlight had gone out,” he says, mentioning that the bulbs in use before LED lights had a tendency to burn out more often. “Somewhere along the way I thought to myself that the city maintenance workers do their jobs during the day, and so they didn’t know what lights weren’t coming on at night.”

 

Thanks to his job, Dunn was acquainted with city staff, and so began calling city hall now and then to provide the locations of the burned-out lights.

 

Also mentioned during his introduction in January was his persistent habit of using his own time to make small improvements on public property.

 

“Waseca is a beautiful city, and we have many nice, well-kept parks,” he comments. “Our parks department does an excellent job of keeping them clean, safe, and well maintained.

“But they can’t be everywhere all the time.”

 

Emphasizing that they’re the types of tasks he enjoys doing, and that he has always done them for their own sake, Dunn says he is glad to spend some time picking up trash or trimming weeds on public property. Among the sites he visits are the bike trails, outdoor athletic facilities and parks.

 

“I was raised with the philosophy that we should leave things better than we found them,” he says. “It just feels good to walk away from a place knowing you’ve made some small difference.”

 

Along with his spontaneous acts of service, Dunn has put in a total of 17 years so far as a member of the Waseca school board. He served for nine years during the 1990s and was elected again when he chose to run in 2018. He is the current board chair.

 

“Being on the school board is an important job that doesn’t always attract a lot of candidates,” Dunn observes. “I’m glad I have the time and experience to serve my community in that role.”

 

Regarding the volunteer work he does, he goes on to say, “What I do, what I will do, what I have done–I’ll do those things anyway.

 

“This reward is not something I sought after and not something I expected, but it’s nice to know that people have noticed. It’s like…icing on the cake.”

 

Recipients of the Don Eustice Community Service Award. (The first award was given by the Chamber Jaycees in 1974. The honor’s title was changed to include Sheriff Don Eustice after he was killed in the line of duty in September of 1976. The award was given yearly until 2019, when the Chamber made the decision to hold its awards banquet only every other year.)

 

1974-D.A. Rieck

1975-Paul Knutson

1976-Pete Madel

1977-Jim Donahue

1978-Oather Troldahl

1979-Marie Eustice

1980-Mike Halverson

1981-Marvel Patton

1982-Don Zwach

1983-Jean Anderson

1984-Esther Eustice

1985-Ken Wendland

1986-Tom Yuzer

1987-Bernadette Gallagher

1988-Everett King

1989-James Corchran

1990-Marlene Rietfort

1991-Gene Driessen

1992-Dr. Craig Peterson

1993-Bill Hintz

1994-Bill Hoversten

1995-Wayne Jertson

1996-Bill Tuttle

1997-Virgil Christenson

1998-Chuck Noble

1999-Charlie Mathern

2000-Don Wynnemer

2001-Shelia Morris

2002-Jim Tippy

2003-Perry Berg

2004-Caryn Wendt

2005-Neil Fruechte

2006-Gloria Butler

2007-Dale Deraad

2008-Roberta Walker

2009-Bob Mickelson

2010-Larry Thompson

2011-Jerry Rutledge

2012-Peggy Hildebrandt

2013-Tim Wenzel

2014-Gyles Randall

2015-Trevor Kanewischer