Thank you Enumclaw!

It is hard to believe that 2010’s Stars and Stripes celebration is already over, but what a grand event this was for our community. Mother Nature even cooperated; we didn’t have any rain during the parade or fireworks! Despite the tough economic times we all live in, Enumclaw still showed that we know how to have fun and that it is indeed important to celebrate our nation’s birthday.

The Stars and Stripes committee began working on plans for the Fourth of July back in March. Without the commitment of committee members Tracey McCallum, Michelle Larson, Martha Boston, Larry Fetter, Marcia Hopkins and the support of Mayor Liz Reynolds we would not have had such a wonderful celebration. These people made sure we had sponsors, a schedule of events that would work, parade entries, volunteers, coverage in newspapers, and took care of all the small details. I cannot thank them enough.

Speaking of sponsors, local businesses really stepped up to the plate. Their generous contributions ensured that we had the funds necessary to hold our celebration. My hat is off to them.

The free pancake breakfast was new this year and held at the Enumclaw Senior Center. Jobyna Nickum took on the tough work of ordering of all the food and decorating the center, the committee simply supplied the volunteers. A special thanks to our breakfast volunteers who got up early to serve over 200 people that morning.

Our parade had almost 60 entries this year, the Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce did a great job in gathering entries, creating a line up and in fielding the volunteers to make sure it got off without a hitch. Thank you to our parade volunteers, who marked off the streets, guided entries to their starting positions and kept the parade moving in a timely fashion.

And finally, a special thank you to you, the Enumclaw community. You didn’t let a little cool weather keep you from getting up early to enjoy some patriotic pancakes (remember the red strawberries, white whipped cream and blue blueberries?), cheering on the entries in our parade, or shouting “ooh” and “ahh” at our fireworks display. You are the reason we celebrate our nation’s independence. Once again you proved that Enumclaw is a great community to live in.

Bob Horn

Enumclaw