Person of the Year - Howard Van Ruler

Local businessman Howard Van Ruler and his wife, Dorothy, are pictured displaying the award he received for being named Waukon’s 2016 “Person of the Year” at the Waukon Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet Friday, February 26. Previous “Person of the Year” awardee and fellow Waukon Economic Development (WEDC) colleague Joe Cunningham introduced Van Ruler as this year’s “Person of the Year” award winner, noting not only his contributions to the Waukon community as a member of WEDC, the Waukon City Council and other organizations over the years, but also his own investment of time, resources and finances to improve and keep the Waukon community moving forward. In accepting the award, Van Ruler likened any accomplishments he has achieved to “playing in the Super Bowl,” which he said doesn’t happen unless you are “part of a great team.” Additional awards distributed at Friday’s annual banquet can be found in this week’s Standard.