School leader inspires even after his death

Pursuing an internship led former Meadow Creek Christian student Dan Skog to contact his old activities director, Brian Budish.

Their first day of working together was supposed to be Jan. 7, but everything changed Nov. 20, when Budish, 51, died from complications of lung cancer.

Skog, a student at St. Cloud State, went ahead with his internship. He does some of his work inside a modest office with a sign on the door that reads, "Mr. Budish, Athletic Director." Budish held the title for 26 years.

"It's kind of awkward when people ask if they can get something out of my office," Skog said. "It's not mine, it's his."

Budish's Meadow Creek athletics legacy reaches far beyond that small office, out past the athletic fields on campus and all the way to area high schools.

Meadow Creek, located in Andover, fields baseball, basketball, golf, boys' hockey, soccer, softball, track and field and volleyball teams.

But as student-athletes desired different sports opportunities, Budish responded by forming co-ops with area schools. Partnerships with Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids and Rivers Christian Academy in Elk River allowed a handful of students to participate in football, gymnastics, girls' hockey, boys' tennis, girls' swimming and diving, and wrestling.

Danielle Peterson graduated last season as the school's only girls' hockey player, a career made possible by a co-op with Blaine. Her younger brother, Eric, got his hockey wish granted when Meadow Creek started its own boys' program this season.

Hockey players attended Budish's funeral in their jerseys, and Eric said many teammates spoke of honoring Mr. Budish's memory with inspired play.

Jeff Peterson admired Budish for his diligence and passion.

"Our family saw his interest from the team level all the way down to the individual level," he said. "He worked hard for us as a family, and his belief that a boys' program could be started was incredible."

Budish was supposed to drop the ceremonial first puck at Meadow Creek's first home game, on Dec. 1. His wife, Cyd, an athletic department secretary, did the honors in his place. August 2008 would have marked their 30th wedding anniversary. Plaques honoring the athletics accomplishments of their three children, Amy, Nathan and Jason, hang outside their father's former office.

"When I cleaned out his office I found a lot of thank you notes he kept," Cyd Budish said. "He cared about the students as people and helping them be the best they could be."

A gray sign hangs above the gymnasium at Meadow Creek, and written in blue is a message Budish wrote in his Bible: Talent is cheap, dedication is costly.

"He poured himself into this place," Cyd Budish said.