Jan and Phyllis Wilson, the couple who founded Pride In Community Appearance, were surprised with the announcement on Wednesday at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village Opera House.

Terry Cook, the organizer of Frontier Days, led them to the Opera House for a supposed meeting.

When the doors opened, about 20 people including members of PICA, were there to greet the Fort Dodge couple and see them get their hats.

“I’m so shocked,” Phyllis Wilson said. “Unbelievable.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Jan Wilson, who founded Pride In Community Appearance with his wife, Phyllis, wipes a tear from his eye Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village Opera House. The Fort Dodge couple were named the grand marshals for the 2021 Frontier Days Parade.

“I thought we were coming to a meeting,” Jan Wilson said.

Cook said the couple was chosen to be the grand marshals for their consistent efforts to keep the community clean.

“They do so much in the community,” Cook said. “If they see that something needs done, their group will do it.”

He added, “They always make the Fort look so nice. They want to stain all the tables before Frontier Days this year.”

Cook said the Wilsons have been “on the list” for a few years now. However, COVID-19 delayed their selection.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Jan Wilson, left, and his wife, Phyllis Wilson, look on after receiving their hats to be the grand marshals of the Frontier Days Parade.

“They have been waiting on the hats for a while now,” he said.

Frontier Days will be held June 4, 5 and 6. The parade is on the morning of June 5.

The Wilsons founded PICA after they retired in the early 2000s.

The couple vacationed to Texas and helped clean up the cities they visited.

“We went to Texas every year to help beautify certain communities in the winter after we retired in 2002,” said Phyllis Wilson.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Members of Pride In Community Appearance pose with Jan and Phyllis Wilson, seated, at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village Opera House on Wednesday. The Fort Dodge couple are the grand marshals for the 2021 Frontier Days Parade.

The volunteer work at Choke Canyon State Park was particularly memorable. Eventually, the couple had the idea of starting something similar in Fort Dodge.

“Jan said we need to help locally,” Phyllis Wilson said.

So they approached the Fort Dodge Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department about starting the volunteer organization in 2002.

“It was decided we would start by building a flower bed around the sign of R.D. Mitchell Park,” Jan Wilson said. “That was our first project.”

Ultimately, 119 hours were spent at R.D. Mitchell Park that fall.

But PICA didn’t stop there.

Since its founding, there are few public areas that have been left untouched by the group.

Some of the areas PICA has worked on include: Fifth Avenue South, Fort Dodge public schools and St. Edmond Catholic School, Veterans Memorial Park, downtown parking lots and the Fort Dodge Public Library. Leaves have been raked, trash picked up and trees planted.

There are about 25 members currently involved in PICA. Those are the real heroes, Phyllis Wilsons said.

“All these volunteers,” she said. “They are the heart and soul.”

She added, “Many hands make light work.”

Fort Dodge City Councilman Kim Alstott has been involved with PICA for about nine years.

“It’s a great group to work with,” he said.

Alstott said PICA will also be involved in putting plants around one of Fort Dodge’s newest projects — the Floyd of Rosedale statue, located at the 10th Avenue North and North 32nd Street roundabout.

Jan Wilson is looking forward to getting back to work.

“We just sent the group a note before we came out here about when we would start,” he said. “We are going to start this year on April 22, which is Earth Day.”

Jan Wilson said he is honored that he and his wife can take part in the Frontier Days festivities as the grand marshals.

“It was a heck of a surprise,” he said. “Emotional, too.”