When Dave Flattery launched the effort to get the Floyd of Rosedale sculpture erected in Fort Dodge, some who know him may have been puzzled or even amused by the irony of the situation. After all, here was a proud Iowa State University graduate pushing to memorialize a hallowed University of Iowa football tradition.

The story of how a pig from a Fort Dodge farm became the basis for a traveling trophy in major college football is a fascinating bit of Fort Dodge history. That’s why Flattery initiated the project. That sculpture isn’t really about the Hawkeyes , it’s about Fort Dodge. Flattery’s love of this community motivated him to make sure that unique bit of its legacy is remembered.

At 3,000 pounds and 14 feet tall, the Floyd sculpture may be the most visible item Flattery has worked on for this community. But it is just one of a long list of things he has done to benefit Fort Dodge over the last 35 years.

That track record is why he received the Catalyst Award from the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance Thursday evening.

A catalyst is defined as an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. Flattery has done so by serving with the former Fort Dodge Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Corporation of Fort Dodge and Webster County. When those two organizations combined to become the Growth Alliance, he kept at it, serving as an Alliance Ambassador, a committee member and community tour guide.

He has served on the boards of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, Community & Family Resources, and St. Edmond Catholic School.

Flattery helped to organize the Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex Development Group, which raised funds for a major expansion of the ballpark north of the city. The group is back in action again, raising money to pay for upgrades to the primary baseball diamond in the park.

Flattery has taken on numerous leadership roles within Holy Trinity Parish.

To many, he is best known as a member of the Fort Dodge City Council.

He does all of those things while working fulltime as president of Availa Bank and being a husband, father and grandfather.

The scope of Flattery’s endeavors and accomplishments are the reason he was named the Catalyst Award winner.

Congratulations, Dave. You’ve earned it.