Even when he heard his name, Darcy Culp couldn’t believe he’d been chosen as this year’s Most Outstanding Citizen of Arthur.
“I was shocked,” he told the Advertiser in a phone interview on Nov. 28. “I thought somebody else was supposed to win it.”
Culp received the award at the Arthur Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting on Nov. 23.
Culp is a longtime volunteer and scorekeeper in Arthur and is involved in many sport leagues.
“He’s a statistician, he knows numbers … when I was coaching he knew the batting averages of my girls in his head and I’d have to look at the book to know what they were,” said former Arthur girls softball coach Hugh Van Hout.
“He’s phenomenal with numbers, absolutely unreal, but it’s just his overall time that he gives to the community.”
Van Hout cited the Darcy Culp annual 3-Pitch Tournament, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this summer. All the proceeds from Culp’s tournament go back to the community, specifically to minor Sports.
Culp said he also works to motivate players in Sports, whether it be baseball, hockey or lacrosse.
“I’ve just got to get these guys to know the game a little bit better and expect to be more disciplined,” Culp explained.
“Motivate the kids, trying to play hard and be smart for a full game instead of parts of it.”
He said he tries to help the players overcome any setbacks in the game, like a bad period or inning.
“Pick it up,” he will say to teams.
“For instance if they do something wrong with their pitching or fielding or catching or their hitting or left a guy wide open and give up a goal or took a bad penalty in hockey or lacrosse, somebody’s got to pick somebody up.
“It’s a team game.”
Van Hout remembers Culp was always at his team’s games, cheering along and getting the players pumped up.
Van Hout said Culp would be right behind the bench, saying, “‘Come on girls, let’s go, it’s time to go’ – just basically cheerleading.”
If the players have a rough game, Culp says he’s there to motivate them for their next one.
“He sets an example … of what a … person can do for the community,” Van Hout said.
