2019 UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR PARADE
Umatilla County Fair Parade
kicks off the festivities
Fair week’s festivities begin with
the Umatilla County Fair Kickoff
Parade, which will usher in another
year of fun at the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Events Center in Hermis-
ton while recognizing longtime fair
contributor and former board mem-
ber Dan Dorran and his wife, Terri.
Dan stepped down from his post on
the board in 2017 after two decades
of service to the county and said be-
ing named a grand marshal is “the
highest honor the fair board can be-
stow on someone.”
With serving board members re-
stricted from being chosen as grand
marshal, fair director Angie McNal-
ley said this year was the right time
for the Dorrans.
“We saw this as our chance to give
a well-deserved former member the
recognition,” McNalley said. “They
could have received any award 10
times over and it’d be deserved.”
The group of parade grand marshals
Dan and Terri join only magnifi es
the honor for them.
“I’ve always looked up to them.
To be in the same, rare company as
them really means a lot,” Dan said.
“I’m not sure we deserve it but we
aren’t giving it back. It’s very, very
humbling.”
The distinction comes after a life-
long commitment to the Umatilla
County Fair. Dan’s grandfather was
8 | Umatilla County Fair 2019
a fair manager in the 1950s and
lived just a few blocks from the fair-
grounds. Some of his earliest fair
memories were helping clean out
the animal stalls.
Now, he continues the cycle and has
enlisted his children as volunteers
around the fairgrounds each year
while he and Terri still stay involved
and give back to the fair.
“We still say it’s our vacation,” Dan
While he’s no longer offi cially guid-
said.
ing the fair into its future, Dan is
In his two decades as a member of still passionate about and dedicated
the Umatilla County Fair Board, to spreading the importance of not
Dan assisted in just about every just the Umatilla County Fair, but
aspect of the fair. From livestock all county fairs in Oregon.
to food vendors to the budget and
more, he did it all. To put as much “Even with social media and the
time and effort as he has, he needed changing times, county fairs are
still a place for a county to come to-
some help from home.
gether and celebrate,” he said.
“It involves the whole family,” he
Other honorees include 2018 male
said.
volunteer of the year, David Fesler
From the 1950s to the present, Dan of Milton-Freewater, and 2018 fe-
has seen the fair develop and grow male volunteer of the year, Terrie
into what it is today. With yearly Dennis.
attendance at 15,000-20,000 when
he fi rst joined the board, he said the McNalley said Fesler has been
fair now regularly exceeds 80,000 a yearly volunteer ever since his
daughters were members of the fair
annual visitors.
court and last year was integral in
He also spoke of an early goal of running the water truck that sup-
his and his fellow board members pressed dust around the fairgrounds.
that was to raise the yearly livestock Dennis has spent a number of years
auction profi ts above $75,000. Now, volunteering in the livestock barns
the auction’s profi ts have surpassed helping 4-H and FFA kids. Specif-
$500,000 each year.
ically, she’s been a fi xture in the
sheep barn according to McNalley.
Both honorees are invited to partic-
ipate in the parade, though they are
not required to.
The fair board also presented Mi-
guel Velasco of Hermiston’s Ve-
lasco Used Cars with the 2018 Busi-
ness Partnership Award. Velasco has
helped grow the fair’s Latino Night
on Friday, which features a latino
music festival that Velasco coordi-
nates. McNalley said Latino Night
has become the fair’s best income
night.
A special recognition award was
also presented to Steve Wallace of
Western Ag Improvement for his
donation of time and resources to
upkeep and development of the fair-
grounds according to McNalley.
The kickoff parade is sponsored by
Hermiston’s Ranch and Home and
will begin on Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
from Hermiston High School and
will end at the Bi-Mart on South
First Place.
East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald