Dave Black was born and raised in River Falls, WI. He is the fourth generation of the Black family to live in this town. Dave and his wife of 33 years, Mary, have 4 grown children: Stephanie (Jeff), Kevin (Liz), Tony, and Amy (Adam). After farming for 15 years, Dave is now an insurance agent for Leitch Insurance in River Falls. Dave was raised on a dairy farm, which meant only being allowed to go out for one sport, so he chose wrestling. He started wrestling when he was a freshman at River Falls High School. In Dave's senior year, 1971, two of his teammates won WIAA state titles, the first two in school history. His involvement in wrestling in the early- to mid-1970s was limited to being a fan, as he and Mary were busy farming and starting a family. However, when asked by Pauly Cudd to help coach the youth club in 1977, he became more involved in wrestling. With the River Falls Youth Club and Booster Club, Dave was a board member from 1991-1998. While he was the president, along with the help of four other booster clubs, Dave started the Wisconsin State Youth Wrestling Association (WSYWA). In 1990, the WSYWA organized the first ever folkstyle state tournament in Wisconsin. After two years, Dave spearheaded the merger between the WSYWA and the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation (WWF). After serving as the treasurer of the WWF for five years, Dave become the chairman of the WWF in 1997. As the chairman of the WWF, Dave has managed the state coach position and implemented state-wide training sites. He also initiated the purchases of mats, clocks, scales, computers, trailers, and any other necessary equipment and properties to run all of the WWF's sanctioned state tournaments and various national tournaments. For his work with the WWF, Dave was recognized as the 2002 USA Wrestling State Chairman of the Year, the same year he was instrumental in bringing the Dream Team to Wisconsin. This was a dual meet featuring the nation's best high school seniors against Wisconsin's top high school seniors. The WWF is one of the model state organizations in USA Wrestling, as it provides programs for its members, all the while being fiscally sound and very progressive thinking, all of which are a reflection of its leader. In addition to his role in the state of Wisconsin, Dave is also involved in the workings of USA Wrestling. He has been the Northern Plains Regional representative, and been on various committees (Steering Committee, Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee, and the International Exchange Committee). In 2006, Dave was voted on to USA Wrestling's Board of Directors. Dave's involvement in the WWF did not limit his or his family's involvement in wrestling in River Falls, though. Beginning in 1991, Dave has done radio broadcasts of conference, regional, sectional, and state tournament results in western Wisconsin for 107.1 FM WIXK and Moose Country 106.7 FM. Since 1997, Dave, along with Walt Anderson, has been instrumental in the operations of the Northern Badger Wrestling Tournament. This tournament, held in River Falls, provides competition for up to 37 teams, with out-of-state teams coming from Alaska and Arizona. Also with Walt's help, Dave coordinated the MN-WI Senior Classic from 1998-2004, a dual meet competition featuring the best high school seniors from each state. From 1996-2000, Dave coached middle school wrestling in River Falls. His sons wrestled at River Falls High School, while his daughter Stephanie was a cheerleader and other daughter Amy was a team manager. Weekend trips to Madison and other Big Ten schools became the norm, as Tony and Kevin donned cardinal and white while wrestling at the University of Wisconsin. Dave and Mary traveled many miles in cars and planes in order to watch as many competitions as possible. Dave has also been on the whistle as a wrestling official. He is a freestyle and Greco-Roman official with the United States Wrestling Officials Association (USWOA), and is a master level WIAA official.37 Through his involvement with the River Falls Youth Club and Booster Club, the WWF, and USA Wrestling, Dave has been successful at providing wrestlers nation-wide with opportunities to compete. For his work in wrestling, Dave was a 2004 inductee into the Wisconsin chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Outside of wrestling, Dave has also been recognized for his involvement in River Falls, as he was the Lions Club Citizen of the Year in 2005. He was also a long standing member on the River Falls Soccer Board. While he was chairman of the soccer board, he was instrumental with the implementation of girls and boys soccer at River Falls High School as a WIAA sport. Dave is thankful to have been surrounded by and involved with so many great individuals through wrestling. "Beyond my involvement, one of my biggest rewards has been the success of my sons and my daughters' involvement in and support of wrestling. Also, Mary's support and assistance makes my involvement with this great sport much more rewarding."