*NEW 2022 Inductee
Often times it is said that diversification of one’s talents and abilities will help lead to more opportunities and hopefully more success.
Our final IATO inductee is obviously diversified in her talents and abilities and opportunities and success have certainly come her way.
Cindy Nelson of Clive, is a Drake University graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement and is a certified insurance fraud examiner.
She volunteered at the Relays while a Drake student, although she really didn’t know a lot about Track and Field. She was a tennis player with aspirations of becoming a football official.
Prominent names in Track and Field officiating in Iowa, like Ray and Scott McAdam, Rex Harvey and Doug Johanson and long time Drake coach Gary Osborn, played important roles in Cindy’s development into a nationally respected Throws official.
For nearly 40 years she has been an official at US Olympic Festivals, USATF national championships and several NCAA championships, just to name a few.
She has been a Drake Relays Official for 37 years and the head official for the Shot Put since 1993. She has worked every state meet since 1984 and has been the head Shot Put official since 1992.
Cindy is a member of the Drake Relays Wall of Honor, has been named an IATO Official of the Year and a recipient of a USATF National Track and Field Outstanding Service Award.
She is retired from the State of Iowa as the Bureau Chief for the Iowa Insurance Fraud Division and is currently employed as a Fraud Specialist for a major insurance company.
She also stays active as a volunteer for Dorothy’s House and the National Center for Missing and Exploited children.
Cindy is the proud mother to a son and daughter and doting grandmother to 3 granddaughters.
Oh, and that dream of becoming a football official? Cindy became the first female football official in Iowa in 1986, one of only 15 in the US at the time.