KINGSTON — After six years of jockeying for facilities geared specifically for children, one of the Kitsap Public Facilities District’s charter members, Cy Wyse, has decided to pass the reins to someone else. Since the district began in 2000, he has tried to make every goal a reality, and the KPFD is now hard pressed to find someone able to fill the void he leaves behind.

During a Monday evening celebration, thanking Wyse for his numerous contributions, it became clear just how many people he has impacted through his work, not just with the KPFD but with other groups like Kiwanis and the Boys & Girls Club.

“He’s had some wonderful life experiences,” said KPFD member Walt Draper. “He’s got lots of good insights and advice. Cy was kind of our conscience, our common sense. It’s going to be hard to replace him.”

Wyse decided to step down from his position because he and his wife, Alma, are having health issues, and he didn’t like the idea of attending meetings so far away and leaving her alone.

“I’ll keep working with kids,” he said. “And I’ll probably start building bird houses. My wife and I enjoy life, and we’ll continue that.”

“It’s been interesting, I’ll tell you that,” Alma Wyse said of being married to such a well-known public figure. “He’s always been involved in something.”

The night gave residents a chance to give back a little of what Wyse had given them. They shared stories about him and laughed about his antics that helped change the North End and the county for the better.

“Someone said we’d be roasting you,” said North Kitsap School Board President Catherine Ahl before she started in with her story about Wyse. “When we first moved here in 1995, I kept hearing the term ‘Cy Wyse.’ I thought Cy Wyse was another Norwegian term like lutefisk. I wondered if it was some way to greet people. Then I met the real Cy Wyse, and realized why we heard his name everywhere we went.”

Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen, who appoints residents to the KPFD, said when the group was first being organized, she wanted someone who wouldn’t forget the purpose for the board.

“I wanted to find someone who would be a advocate for the kids,” she said. “I couldn’t think of anyone else who would make sure that some of the money went to children.”

It is now up to Endresen to find the person who will replace Wyse, and she said it will be difficult to replace someone who worked so hard for nothing in return but the satisfaction of a job well done.

“He can’t exceed your expectations because his are so far above what you think,” said KPFD Administrator Anne Blair. “The depth of his involvement and the number of places he’s been involved are incredible.”

While on the KPFD, Wyse helped get the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton constructed, and also pushed for the renovation of the Kitsap County Fairgrounds and Events Center. Blair and Draper said he never lost sight of how the facilities would help children, and always pushed for what would help the next generation the most.

“I don’t know why so many people are here,” Wyse said, adding that working to help children should be something everyone would want to work for. “There are a lot of people here who’ve done a lot more than me. They all deserve recognition as well.”