Cheryl Treland Named Musky Fest Grand Marshal

Cheryl Treland Named Musky Fest Grand Marshal

Cheryl Treland as the 2021 grand marshal for the 71st annual Musky Festival parade.

The Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce has named Cheryl Treland as the 2021 grand marshal for the 71st annual Musky Festival parade.

Treland grew up in the Hayward area and is a graduate of Hayward High School. Following graduation, she attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in education. After six years teaching high school physical education in Beaver Dam and Green Bay, and several years selling insurance as the manager of Boncler Insurance in Hayward, Treland returned to resort life to help run and grow the family business — Treeland Resorts — to what it is today.

Started by her grandfather, Oluf Treland, Treeland Resorts is nearing 100 years as a family-owned and operated local business where giving back to the community is front and center.

Treland said her parents, Oscar and Johnny, were grand marshals around the 1990s.

“It’s in the blood,” she said. “It’s an honor to follow in those foosteps.”

According to the chamber, Treland is committed not only to her business endeavors but also to the Hayward area at large. Over the years, she has founded several community-based organizations to help promote and bring the community together. She founded the Hayward Ski Skats waterski club, where she led and performed in over 27 shows from 1970 to 1974. In 2007, Treland established Chippewa Partners, bringing together stakeholders across the Chippewa Flowage, serves as chair to this day.

Treland also volunteers her time and talent to causes and organizations she believes in. For over 30 years, she has served as a board member and current president of the Lake Chippewa Flowage Resort Association. Her dedication as a board member and past president of the Hayward Lakes Resort and Sawyer County Recreation associations led these organizations to a merger in 2022 to what is now known as the Hayward Lakes Visitor and Convention Bureau (HLVCB).

For 13 year, Treland served as a board member and chairperson (for eight of those years) for the Chippewa Flowage Area Property Owners Association. From 2015-17, Treland served on the board of the Sawyer County-LCO Economic Development Corp. She has spent a lifetime advocating and promoting tourism in the Hayward area and across Wisconsin.

Serving on a team of representatives, she lobbied with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in Madison and Washington, D.C., and served on the Wisconsin State Board of Innkeepers. As the chair of the First Lutheran Relay for Life for six years, she topped off as the largest individual fundraiser for five of those six years.

Treland led a complete renovation of the First Lutheran Church Kitchen Committee in 2018-19 and currently serves on the board of the Hayward Civic Club (Hayward Golf Club), leading both clubhouse and kitchen renovations this past year.

In 2009, Treland received the Northland’s News Center Women in Leadership Award for outstanding dedication to family, profession and community. She was given the 2016 Wisconsin Governor’s Trailblazer Award for Women in Business and in 2018 received the Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce Women in Hospitality and Business Award. Earlier this year, she was awarded the 2021 Warren Knowles Award for the promotion of tourism, fishing and environmental enrichment in Wisconsin.

Treland’s entire family loves getting ideas to grow the community for the next generation and helping out. They love the small-town atmosphere, and also strive to make their resorts on a par with five-star facilities around the country.

“You do what you do, and you try to help others look forward,” she said. “That’s what the Hayward area is.”

Treland said she got the phone call from Chamber Executive Director Chris Ruckdaschel while she was driving and had tears in her eyes.

“I was shocked, and I was honored,” she said.

“Chery’s dedication is unmatched, passion-contagious, heart-abundant, and her promotion of tourism in the Hayward area is unapologetically in the forefront of everything she sets out to do,” said the Chamber. “She puts family and community first while maintaining high business standards in all endeavors — making her the perfect ambassador for the Hayward area and 71st annual Musky Festival. We are honored to recognize Cheryl’s selfless service and significant contributions to the Hayward area and thrilled to have her as our 2021 grand marshal.”

The Musky Festival parade will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 27, on Hayward Main Street.