16 CapitalPress.com
January 23, 2015
Dedicated volunteers keep Ag Expo running smoothly
Annual event keeps
change constant to
attract farmers
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Sybil Tresch and Bill Nelson stand outside the Spokane Convention Center. They are longtime volun-
teers at the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum.
Tresch started volun-
teering in about 1991, serv-
ing as board president for
two years and on various
committees.
“I loved it, I liked the
people I met, too,” she
said.
Many of the longtime
Building
Healthy Soils
thing new every year, to
keep farmers coming back
again and again.
Volunteers work to
make sure the Expo runs
as smoothly as possible,
drawing high quality atten-
dance to interact with the
show’s exhibitors, Nelson
and Tresch said.
“Everyone who comes
to the show is basically a
qualified buyer,” Nelson
said. “When I was exhib-
itor, I always had people
that came to the show to see
me and ask questions. It’s
those kinds of relationships
that you build by being an
exhibitor.”
“We’re getting more
young people, I think, that
are interested,” Tresch
said.
For aspiring new volun-
teers, Tresch recommends
becoming acquainted with
Greater Spokane Inc., and
determining which com-
mittees may be the best
fit.
Both Tresch and Nelson
plan to continue working at
the Expo.
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SPAE15-2/#14
SPOKANE — The Spo-
kane Ag Expo wouldn’t
come together without the
hard work of its many vol-
unteers.
Two longtime volunteers
are Bill Nelson and Sybil
Tresch.
Nelson has been in-
volved since the first Expo,
when he was an exhibitor.
“They
hooked
me
many years ago,” he said,
noting he gets a chance
to catch up with long-
time farmer friends at the
Expo.
“Sometimes you don’t
see them until you come to
the show,” Tresch agreed.
“There’s a lot of standing
in the aisles and visiting.
That’s fun to see. You rec-
ognize the long-term at-
tendees.”
volunteers have demon-
strated a rare loyalty not
seen in other organizations,
Tresch said. She estimated
there are 10 or 12 volun-
teers who have been with
the show since the begin-
ning.
Nelson grew up on a
farm in Davenport, Wash.,
and worked for a manufac-
turing company as sales
manager.
Tresch lived on small
acreage farms growing up,
but her background is in fi-
nance.
Nelson and Tresch have
been friends for a long
time. They helped put on
a horseshoe event in dif-
ferent communities around
Spokane. The winners from
each town used to compete
at the Expo.
Tresch believes the
Expo remains an import-
ant function for farmers
around the region, to see
technology updates and re-
ceive continuing education
credits.
Nelson said the show
works to provide some-
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