County fair thanks | Letters
Published 4:40 pm Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Thank you to all the visitors and residents of San Juan County who helped with the success of this year’s photography department at the San Juan County Fair.
First – I’d like to mention the participants (far too many to list individually), not only those who received ribbons, but the unrecognized photographers who took the time to take, process, frame, and display the nearly 350 images these folks felt should be shared with the countless fair-goers.
Second – I’d like to thank those volunteers and judges who spent time setting up the display, manning the booth and supporting us throughout the fair. Special thanks go out to: Sonda Earley, Rebecca Parks, Ray Sheffer, Tim Dustrude, Scott Rasmussen, David and Nancy Honeywell, Mark Gardner, Karen Woldveldt, Deanna Jenkins, Cynthia Brast, John Sinclair, John Boyd, Donna Dyer, Deborah Goelzer, Steven K. Roberts, plus Allison, Kathleen, and Jennifer (who were provided to us by the folks at the Fair Office).
Third – I’d like to thank the local businesses who contributed prizes for the entry winners: Charles at Kung Fu Pizza and the China Pearl, Meghann at Browne Home Center, Donny at Ace Hardware, Debi at the Hard Drive Cafe, Cecil at Radio Shack, and Cindy at Gourmet Galley for their contributions.
Fourth – Thank you to the folks who took the time to view the entries and those who voted for the People’s Choice.
I should also mention the winners of the Best in Show (one award for the competitive entries, the other for the open competition): Mark D. Gardner and Jenni Merritt; Best in Class (open, portrait) Peter Wangoe Sr., Best in Class (competitive, nature and wildlife) Rebecca K. Smith. Best in Class (open, pet and farm animal) Desiree Ann D’nabana, and Best in Class (open youth, still life) Eden Light; and the four People’s Choice winners Allison Dragon, Michael Herko, Monika Wieland, and Judy Chovan.
Miles Crossen
San Juan County Fair Photography Superintendent
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We wanted to say thank you for making our time at your fair such a memorable experience for Miss Gail and me. Everyone we met from Jennifer and Ashley on staff to some of the great people who stopped by our electric vehicle booth impressed us with their friendliness and attitude!
A special thanks to Matthew Waite, Facilities Maintenance for going out of his way to get us a plug-in to recharge our electric truck which allowed us to travel all over the island from Roche Harbor to Cattle Point. My first visit to San Juan, but I hope not my last!
We enjoyed meeting all the folks from the town, the county and the port who came by to get information and talk about electric vehicles. And we loved meeting the folks who made the fair so special like Amy from OPALCO, and Linda from the conservation district who both had great ideas for the future of EV work vehicles on the islands.
Then there were the great volunteers we saw from the 4-H folks to The Friends of the San Juans that so expressed the charm of your community coming together. It was so easy for us to feel right at home with your small town hospitality.
The worst part of the whole fair was having to smell that fresh bread baking next to us in the exhibit building, then being FORCED by the “jam jockeys” to try to judge between all the delectable jams and jellies slathered on that aforementioned bread!
The textile shed was an inspiring idea packed visit for Miss Gail, a fiber artist here in Oregon, and she is still inspired by your folks like Mimi who did such a great job. Then there were the beautiful flowers, veggies and fruits that were awesome for us desert rats who only wish we could grow them so well as you do in the San Juans!
And then best of all was all the “characters” we met ranging from our booth neighbors Ray and his lovely family with “Dish” to their partners in crime at the hair painting cable company on the other side. We loved the fellow with the benches, planters and cabinets! What an imagination and a twinkle in the eye! Of course there were the folks from Waldron Island that visited with Miss Gail, Liz from the Post Office and her buddy whom we had breakfast with and “Biker Bill” we met waiting for us to come out of the Whale Museum to talk about electric cars! Call us Bill. We need to talk some more!
We had a great time in the islands! Miss Gail and I got to visit the library at Orcas where she got a lot of help for her pet project of starting a seed bank here in our small eastern Oregon community. We hope to see you again next year. We got to know a lot of old friends we just hadn’t met yet!
John R. Cogar
Oregon
