Brenda Carpenter: The heart behind Dryden Dairy Day

Brenda Carpenter, best known for her tireless work over the last four decades as one of the main organizers of Dryden Dairy Day, showed up to Dryden’s Montgomery Park on a recent afternoon with an outfit as vibrant as the sunny summer day. In a tie-dyed Dairy Day T-shirt and cow earrings that were handcrafted by her granddaughter, she was the picture of passionate volunteerism and everything that embodies a true Hometown Hero.

When Carpenter and a small group of other volunteers, including longtime Dairy Day organizers Mary Frances Scott and Nan Keech, first came up with the idea of Dryden Dairy Day, Carpenter said they did not think it would last longer than one year. But the next year they pulled the event together again, and the year after that.

“But never in my wildest dreams did I think, ‘It’s going to go 41 years,’” Carpenter said. “No way.”

Year after year, the event increases its sponsorships. The Dairy Day Committee continues to add to its membership.

“I will say, honestly, for me what keeps it alive are the new members to the committee, and just the passion that they bring to the committee,” Carpenter said. 

Seeing the event come together gives her a great sense of pride in her community. “What’s my motivation is seeing it on the day — seeing 5,000 people fill this park.”

The committee members meet about six times per year. “They’re always gathering ideas of who we should bring in and what we should do,” Carpenter said. “So, everybody has their own job and their own roles, and finding the skill and talents of each committee member and just putting that into play is just beauty for me.”

One of Carpenter’s favorite parts of Dairy Day is the kindergarten coloring contest, which has been a part of the festivities since the very first year. Children submit coloring pages of cows to be judged on the day of the event. “That has been for 41 years, that kindergarten students have been coloring cows,” Carpenter said, “and oh my gosh. That’s so much fun.”

Diary Day now features a variety of food concession stands, live music, live animals, a Dairy Princess contest, kids’ entertainment like balloon animals and Dan the Snake Man, and the parade down Main Street that kicks off the festivities every year.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brenda for many years, first with the county Dairy Princess program and now as a member of the Dryden Dairy Day Committee,” Melissa Osgood said. “Her passion, kindness and deep-rooted commitment to our community are inspiring. Brenda knows everyone, and everyone knows Brenda!”

“She puts in countless hours to ensure every event is a success, often working quietly behind the scenes, and [she is] always quick to give credit to others,” Osgood added.

Carpenter is originally from Boonville, New York. During her senior year at SUNY Plattsburgh, she met her husband, Evan, and they moved to his hometown of Dryden to start a family. This included carrying on the family farm, Wide Awake Dairy.

“It was the best place on Earth to raise four boys,” Carpenter said. Her four sons all have careers that involve agriculture in some way. Gabriel is a dairy nutritionist for a large feed company; Joshua has a small dairy farm and is a forage line specialist for a large brand; Daniel is a bus driver for Homer schools and works in farm operation with his father at Wide Awake; and Jason works for a crop farm and runs his own farm and CSA in Interlaken called Wide Awake Ranch. Carpenter also has seven grandchildren. 

Dairy Day 2025: overcoming the challenges of a wet spring

Dairy Day 2025 came with some unprecedented challenges. The soggy field at Montgomery Park, caused by the rainy spring, could not support the vendors’ vehicles that would normally drive onto the grass to unload everything they needed for their booths. The food vendors also could not drive onto the area where they would normally set up. The week of the event, Carpenter rallied her volunteers to come up with an alternative plan.

“This year, when heavy rains made it unsafe to drive on the park lawn, [Carpenter] spent many extra hours with community leaders, reorganizing layouts and parking to keep everything running smoothly,” Osgood said. “Her ability to lead with grace and selflessness is truly inspiring.”

It all worked out fine, Carpenter said. The new location for the food vendors, on the parking lot, worked well. The 65 other vendors, all of whom Carpenter had to contact just days before the event with a plan for unloading on Elm Street, were incredibly understanding.

“It was like they took turns,” Carpenter said. “The vendors were very patient.”

Carpenter said she sent out two mass emails to her vendor list and didn’t have one negative comment in return.

Dottie Slocum, of Dryden, knows Carpenter best through their shared church fellowship but also runs a food booth at the event with the Kiwanis Club of Dryden, a division of Kiwanis International.

“To me,” Slocum said, “Dairy Day is small town at its best.”

Slocum helped with the revised plans for unloading the vendors. 

“[Carpenter] said, ‘Can you meet me Thursday morning?’ and we helped her figure out where to put all the food booths and everything,” Slocum said. “We made it work, and everything went smoothly.”

“Brenda is one of those extraordinary people who can put her hand on a wish and turn it into a wonder,” said Jeanine and Jack Scott in an email. “She is a vibrant, dedicated, energetic servant capable of organizing, managing and connecting with any group in which she is involved.”

A long career in 4-H, years of leadership in church 

In addition to her four decades of leadership for Dryden Dairy Day, Carpenter had a 32-year-long career in which she was responsible for 4-H volunteer development.

Carpenter got to see many children bond with calves, as Wide Awake Dairy would allow children in 4-H to borrow them, teaching them not just how to show a calf but how to care for them, as well.

“She has done so much for the youth of Tompkins County through 4-H,” said Callie TenKate, whom Carpenter worked closely with when she was a young person in 4-H. “She has helped give me opportunities to be a leader while helping me gain the skills I need to succeed in 4-H and beyond.”

“Her advocacy for children has made me feel empowered since the beginning,” TenKate added. “She is an incredible mentor — and even now, as I have aged out of 4-H, she is still someone I look up to.”

“Brenda has always been outstanding to work with,” said Mike TenKate, Callie TenKate’s father. “Brenda’s work ethic and passion for youth has always been evident. In many ways, to me, Brenda is 4-H. My daughters spent many years in 4-H, and Brenda was always central to that. She has had a huge impact on me and on our entire family. She has had a huge impact on my daughters and helped them grow within 4-H.”

Slocum attends the First Presbyterian Church of Dryden, where Carpenter has been an active member since moving to Dryden years ago.

“[The Carpenters] raised four wonderful sons, and I just can’t say enough good about Brenda,” Slocum said.

And, to top it off, “she’s also a Buffalo Bills fan like me,” Slocum added with a laugh.

Carpenter spearheads youth programs at the church and starts services as a liturgist, leading the congregation in prayer. She also leads Bible studies, and Slocum said she is especially appreciative of a recent series of Bible studies for women, where 15 to 25 members of the church took turns meeting at each other’s homes.

“It’s just good Christian fellowship,” Slocum said.

Carpenter and her family have brought the live nativity to life year after year by bringing live animals to the festivities on the day of Dryden’s tree lighting and Santa visit. “It draws a big crowd,” Slocum said. “They have brought sheep, horses, chickens.”

“She’s just a gal with tremendous positive energy,” Slocum said.