opinion
august15
2013
An Opinion: It Does Take a Village
By Scott Laird
Another Jamboree has come and
gone in Vernonia, and hopefully all of
you enjoyed a weekend of fun, festivi-
ties and friendship.
Many of you may be surprised
to learn that the Vernonia Friendship
Jamboree and Logging Show doesn’t
just happen spontaneously and on its
own. It takes a lot of work and planning.
It also takes money. And it especially
takes a lot of volunteers. In fact, it al-
most takes the entire town to make this
weekend come together and happen.
And “come together” is the key
phrase here. Because that’s what has to
happen if we are going to host a success-
ful Jamboree weekend. What we see
every year at Jamboree time is our com-
munity working together in the name of
friendship and pride. Numerous groups
and individuals band together, invite vis-
itors and old friends to return and enjoy
our hospitality and then put on a three
day celebration for everyone to enjoy.
It’s because so many people give
selflessly that Jamboree and the Logging
Show happen each year.
I would like to take a moment
here to thank all the many, many volun-
teers who give up countless hours of their
personal time to strategize and organize
the many events and activities that make
up Jamboree. I would also like to thank
all those people who give up parts of
their weekend during the event to volun-
teer and make all those things that were
planned an actual reality.
The Jamboree Committee has
been meeting for many months this past
year, just as they do every year, discuss-
ing ideas and ways to make each Jambo-
ree a weekend to remember. This year
there were several new members who
joined the committee, including chair
Ernie Smith. Smith and the several new
members brought a breath of fresh air
and new energy into the planning and
implementation process and there is a
lot of excitement about the future for the
Jamboree moving forward.
Right now you might be ask-
ing yourself, “So, who is the Jamboree
Committee?” Well, they are you and
me-regular Vernonia citizens who come
together to make this big event happen
for the rest of the community. There
is no paid staff; the event is organized
and carried out strictly by volunteers,
with some much appreciated help from
City of Vernonia staff with certain tasks.
From the Fishing Derby on Friday, to the
Parade and Elvis concert on Saturday to
the Logging Show on Sunday, this year
the events that made up Jamboree week-
end were brought to you by your friends
and neighbors right here in our town. Or
in some cases, your friends who used to
be from this town.
This past year the Jamboree
Committee focused on marketing and
bringing more people to town to cel-
ebrate with us. Signs, banners, post-
ers and flyers were spread far and wide
by volunteers in an effort to encourage
more people to visit Vernonia for this big
weekend. From the crowds I witnessed
and the feedback I heard on the street, I
think the committee accomplished their
goal.
A big thank you also goes out
to the Vernonia business owners in the
downtown corridor who took it upon
themselves on the Thursday prior to
Jamboree to repaint the curbs in front of
Can You Give a Helping Hand?
Come help spruce up the landscaping
at the new Vernonia School
th
August 17
from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Please bring hand tools
for weeding, trimming
bushes and more, as well as
containers for debris.
their shops. Your initiative and will-
ingness to work and really dress up the
downtown showed your true Vernonia
pride and spirit.
The “Give Back Bash” was a
special event this year--a fundraiser or-
ganized by the VHS Class of 1973 to
raise funds for athletic facilities at the
new Vernonia School. The event fea-
tured a live concert by Justin Shandor,
a very talented Elvis tribute artist, and
brought people from all over for a re-
union and a good time. This event was
excellently organized by mostly out-of-
towners who still love Vernonia and who
gave selflessly of their time, talents and
energy for our Jamboree. Thank you to
Kathi Knowles, Deborah Dustman, Gay-
le Welch, Marsha Sturdevandt and the
many other volunteers who made this
happen. It was a successfully organized
and marketed event that helped bring
more people to town and gave those who
saw either of the two professional shows
many wonderful memories.
Many volunteer groups in town
got involved in Jamboree as a way to
raise funds for their activities and pro-
vide services for visitors. From the fire
department to the PTA to 4-H to the Li-
on’s Club to the Boosters, they all found
a way to help make this year’s Jamboree
even better.
The Erik Kesterson Memorial
Motorcycle Show was another exam-
ple of the community coming together
to make an activity happen. Forced to
work around the demolition work at
the old school grounds, Sunny Suppes
and her friends from the Vernonia Free
Wheelers cleaned up the parking area,
receiving help from Chief Dean Smith
and the Vernonia Fire Department with
hosing off and washing the site. More
Vernonians working together.
There are many events during
Jamboree weekend that take a lot effort
to organize and I know I will leave some-
one out if I try to name them all. Each
activity and event-from the information
booth, to the street and food vendors, to
the live music in Shay Park to the Lawn
Mower Races-are all critical to making
Jamboree weekend fun, entertaining and
memorable. To those oraginzers and
volunteers, just know that all your time
and efforts are appreciated and recog-
nized.
I do want to take time to note the
work of Logging Show co-chairs Kelly
and Lindsay Baska and Alicia Normand
who have breathed new life into this
very Vernonia event. So much work
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
April Bamburg
Chip Bubl
Dr. Ken Cox
Tobie Finzel
Bill Haack
Jill Hult
Dr. Carol McIntyre
Jack Phillips
Sonia Spackman
Brad Witt
Photography
April Bamburg
Scott Laird
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goes into the setup, organizing, securing
sponsors, advertising, recruiting partici-
pants and clean up. But this single event
provides so many great memories each
year, it is worth all the effort. Just ask
anyone who was there this year to wit-
ness Dean Schaumburg lift that chain
saw and slice that log from his wheel-
chair. Unforgettable!
The Jamboree Committee in-
tends to send out an on-line survey soon
to ask for more feedback and new ideas
about what you would like to see at Jam-
boree. They also plan to meet through-
out the year and have already begun
planning for next year. If you would like
to join the Jamboree Committee and
help with next year’s event go to their
Facebook page “Vernonia Friendship
Jamboree and Logging Show,” to find
out when the next meeting will be held.
Remember, it takes all of us to
make Jamboree a success.
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