The following appeared in Maple News. Thank you, Cindy, for all your great work!
Cindy Martel is a 24-year veteran with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA). Although as “Wild and Wonderful” (a well-known WV tag line) as they come, Cindy grew up in Concord New Hampshire, where she made maple syrup on an uncle’s farm. Drawn south by educational opportunities at West Virginia University and the lure of the Gauley, New and Cheat Rivers, where she worked as a raft guide, Cindy never forgot the tastes and the smells of her sugaring days as a child.
In 2013 Cindy was presented a unique opportunity to draw on her childhood maple syrup days when Mark Bowers, the founding president of the West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers Association, approached the WVDA about the possibilities maple syrup production held for the state. As a Marketing Specialist within the Department, Cindy was ideally situated to serve as an advocate for the fledgling Association. Her New England maple genes kicked back on and Cindy became the go to person to promote the industry. Whether it was organizational support for the new West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers Association, organizing Mountain State Maple Days, directing the Association to grant opportunities, or just talking maple to anyone willing to listen, Cindy made maple things happen. Dubbed the “Maple Queen” by her colleagues at the Department, Cindy made sure maple syrup was represented in the department’s discussions. Never one to miss a marketing opportunity she arranged that the ceremonial tree the Commissioner of Agriculture tapped to inaugurate the 2018 maple season stood on the State Capitol grounds, right outside the Governor’s office window.
This past summer in a ceremony at the West Virginia State Fair, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt honored women in the state who made notable contributions to agriculture by naming them a WVDA “Woman in Ag.” Cindy’s name was called, and she went up to be recognized. Notably, several maple syrup producers were in attendance with Cindy’s large gathering of friends and coworkers. After the handshake and the praise, she was given a lovely induction pendent, appropriately featuring an embedded maple leaf.