Dedication to service and leadership

This is the first in a three-part series about the Creston Chamber of Commerce awards.

Leadership and service are the two main characteristics that come to mind when community members think of Creston teen Dylan Dornack.

A soon-to-be Eagle Scout, Future Business Leaders of America District 6 vice president and long-time volunteer for various area non-profits, Dornack has accomplished a lot despite only being a high school junior. His commitment and community involvement were cited as major reasons for being nominated as Creston’s Youth of the Year.

Dornack is receiving the Creston Chamber of Commerce’s Youth of the Year Award due to dedication. He will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Eagles, along with Citizen of the Year Jamie Travis and Volunteer of the Year Trevor Paulus.

Staying involved

Dornack said everything he does today sprouted from a Boy Scout recruitment event in elementary school.

“I was in second grade at the time, and I went to my dad and said, ‘hey, I want to get in this.’ It sounds like fun,” Dornack said. “That’s kind of where it all started.”

When he started high school, Dornack was excited to get involved.

“Really, it wasn’t wanting to be involved in the service, it was more so wanting to be involved. It was wanting to be a part of a group, a part of a community,” Dornack said. “That’s kind of where that speech, band, ASP, baseball, all these different things came into play and they really just kickstarted that for me, really got the gears turning and really introduced me to service as a whole and showed me the service route I wanted to take.”

Mahayla Hill, his FBLA advisor and the person who nominated him for the award, said it was this constant involvement that made her want to nominate him.

“He is a trifecta of busy because he’s got sports, academics and extracurricular clubs. He does Eagle Scouts, he helps with the musical, he’s in speech, he does FBLA, he’s in archery, he does so much that takes up a quality amount of his time,” Hill said.

Not only does Dornack do all these things, he rises to the challenge and helps to lead others involved.

Leadership

Starting as a Cub Scout, Dornack has worked his way up to the highest level a boy scout can be. Dornack is working on his Eagle Scout project, a ceremonial fire pit meant specifically for retired American flags. Once this is complete, he will go before an Eagle Scout board of review. However, even without the Eagle Scout position, Dornack has been at the forefront of his Boy Scout troop as Senior Patrol Leader for a while now.

“He started out, typical ornery kid, and he’s grown into a wonderful leader. He’s able to inspire the boys and get them to listen to him and to - sometimes - stay on task,” Charlotte Fletcher, a long-time Troop 129 adult leader, said. “He is in charge of leading our meetings; he’s in charge of just the day-to-day running of the meeting. They’re supposed to come to him with their general questions. He’s the guy in charge.”

His leadership skills in Boy Scouts is what led many to suggest he join FBLA once he got to high school. Dornack quickly got involved, becoming a District 6 representative his freshmen and sophomore years. However, he wanted to take his leadership to the next level.

“I saw the inner workings as an inner-district ambassador. After my freshmen year, there were two other kids that tried to run for state office and they didn’t make it, but I got to kind of watch what they did and they taught me what not and what to do,” Dornack said. “I went in with a little bit more knowledge than some people, and I think that did help me. It was really a good experience overall, running. I got to speak to a lot of members at our state leadership conference.”

Hill was thrilled when Dornack first approached her about running for District 6 vice president. With 16 schools and only one position, Hill knew it would take work, but thought Dornack was the best person for the job.

“My actual response I said to him was, ‘finally,’” Hill said. “’You would be one of the first people I would expect to run for state, I don’t know why you waited so long. Go for it, go at it, I know you’ll get it.’ And sure enough, he did.”

Dornack’s commitment to leadership is only rivaled by his love of community service.

Love of service

Though Dornack certainly helps the community through his work in Boy Scouts, this wasn’t enough for him. Dornack is an avid food pantry volunteer and spends a week every summer making home improvements for low-income Appalachian families through the Appalachian Service Project.

“I like to help out at the food pantry. I do that with First Presbyterian Church and with the Boy Scouts,” Dornack said. “I’m a pretty familiar face to see at the food pantry, I go when I can to help. The head lady has my phone number; she knows she can call me if she needs me. It really opened my eyes to what is really happening in this town.”

Dornack said working at the food pantry has helped him understand different perspectives while keeping common humanity in mind.

“Just because you’re in a different situation than I am doesn’t mean that you’re below me, it just means that maybe I can find another way to help you,” he said.

This perspective came in handy when Dornack started doing ASP. What began with unwilling participation morphed into a passion.

“It’s one of those things where my mom kind of just walked into my room and was like, hey, congrats, you’re doing this. At first I didn’t want to, but after that one year, I can’t stop going back,” Dornack said. “It started my eighth grade year and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Through ASP, Dornack spends not only a week in Appalachia, but also does a minimum of 20 hours of service going specifically toward his ASP trip.

" I’ve done 34 hours of service every single year that I’m in ASP," Dornack said. “We’re required to do 20 for our trip, but I usually help carry out the auction, I help with Meals from the Heartland, I really like to just get involved where I can to help people out. I feel like that’s the best thing to do.”

This passion is evident to those around him.

“Dylan’s always eager to help. Throughout the year we work on projects here in town, little home repairs, deck repairs, put up railings, things like that,” Chris Lane, an adult ASP leader, said. “Dylan’s always one to step up to volunteer and is always willing to have a conversation, very talkative.”

With all that Dornack does, Lane said it isn’t for accolades or praise; it’s just who Dornack is.

“If you’ve ever been a part of any type of organization, there’s always a lack of volunteers to step up for leadership roles, and Dylan’s just been one who says why not and does it,” Lane said. “I think he thinks he gets more out of it by doing such, and I think he’s one who will try to step out of his comfort zone in doing that. It’s very appreciated.”

The future

Less than halfway through his junior year, Dornack has plenty of time to continue his leadership and service in Creston. However, he’s also looking to the future.

“I’m kind of interested a little bit more in psychology,” Dornack said. “I don’t entirely know where I’m going, but I know I’m going somewhere where I’m going to help a lot of people, and so I’m kind of looking at law enforcement or psychology, somewhere in there. I just want to still continue that aspect where I have time to help people.”

No matter what Dornack decides to do, the people around him know it will be great.

“I see him succeeding in anything he puts his mind to,” Fletcher said. “I feel that he is going to go very far in whatever he wants to do post-school, post-scouting and just whatever he puts his mind to, he’s going to get it done.”

And with all Dornack does, it’s no wonder he’s this year’s Youth of the Year.

“I had one nomination and I used my nomination well,” Hill said. “I knew that if anyone deserved this award, it would be him for all that he does for Creston.”