Cyndy Andrus to Receive NASAA 2022 Distinguished Public Service Award

BOZEMAN – The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) has named Cyndy Andrus, former chair of the Montana Arts Council, the recipient of its 2022 Distinguished Public Service Award. The award honors volunteer leaders of the state arts agency field whose outstanding service, creative thinking, and leadership significantly impact public support for the arts in their state and across the country. The award will be presented on September 24 during NASAA Assembly 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri.

 
Cyndy Andrus has lived and worked in Bozeman, Montana, for nearly 30 years. She is a member of the Bozeman City Commission, serving her second term as mayor. She is one of only four women to serve in that position and, in 2018, received the Bozeman Business and Professional Women's Woman of Achievement Award. She has served on the city commission since 2010 and was the driving force behind the 1% for the Arts ordinance in Bozeman, requiring one percent of eligible construction costs of City Capital Improvement projects over $1,000,000 to be allocated for public art.

 
Before moving to Bozeman, Andrus worked as an interpretive naturalist ranger in Yellowstone National Park and as a ranger on the Alagnak Wild River in Alaska. Andrus is an active community member and an ardent supporter of the arts. She worked in the tourism industry for more than 25 years and was a governor's appointee to the Montana Tourism Advisory Council, serving ten years, including two years as chair.

 
Andrus is the former chair of the Montana Arts Council, serving three governors for 18 years. She is a board trustee of WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation) and a former NASAA and National League of Cities board member.
 
When she is not volunteering or performing her official duties, you can find Andrus exploring the backroads of Montana with her husband in their 1982 Volkswagen camper van, attending the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, or sharing with her siblings the management duties of her family's beer garden at the Minnesota State Fair (chocolate chip cookie beer, anyone?).

 
Andrus is married to Brady Wiseman (former Montana legislator) and has a lifelong passion for travel, culture, and the culinary arts. She loves football, black licorice, and the occasional sipping of a single malt (Speyside).
 
"A dedicated public servant, Cyndy Andrus is thoughtful, forward-thinking, and innovative in her many roles," said NASAA President and CEO Pam Breaux. "She's guided by a strong sense of community and has a real passion for the arts and the many ways they enhance and deepen civic life. Wherever she serves, at every level, she brings a positive attitude, a sense of possibility, strategic focus, and a truly impressive ability to work with others to achieve the goals at hand. I can think of no one more deserving than Cyndy to receive this award based on her decades of service to the arts, to Montana, and NASAA."

 
Founded in 1968, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies is the nonpartisan membership organization that serves the nation's 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies. NASAA helps state arts agencies fulfill their many citizen service roles by providing knowledge services, representation, and leadership programs that strengthen the state arts agency community. NASAA also serves as a clearinghouse for data and research about public funding and the arts. To learn more about NASAA and state arts agencies, visit www.nasaa-arts.org.