Fair And Rodeo Volunteers Get The Job Done
Author: mt43news staff reporter
Fair and Rodeo Volunteers Get the Job Done
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Jodi Hauser knows about volunteering. She was raised in Ellensburg, Washington on a sheep and cattle ranch and finally raised timothy hay where she was “volunteered” at an early age. The Ellensburg Rodeo called on her for 11 years, where she volunteered as well. She moved to Townsend in 2018, bought herself a little place out of town and started a cleaning business in the area. She put her values as a self-starter and hard worker at the front of her life. “I guess you’d say I am very independent,” she laughed.
Hauser ran her cleaning business for 21 years in Washington State and Montana as an independent contractor cleaning in Helena, Willow Creek, and many Townsend businesses. After surgery for a torn rotator cuff, she decided the time had come to retire to return to volunteering.
Friday at the 4-H building, she had just finished helping set up and judge the Open Class of the Fair. She helped check in entries, tagging and finished by putting ribbons on the final winners. “My whole family was involved with 4-H. I knew I wanted to get involved to meet new people and take part in this great community,” she said.
The large group of volunteers helped Fair Manager Jessica Erickson with more than 500 entries, which is twice as many as last year. She felt the increase was because the good weather in the county encouraged people to put in many entries for horticulture – flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruits - that she had not seen in many years. Although quilt entry numbers were down, photography and handwork showed up in large numbers. “I think we tried hard to reach out to people to enter through more publicity. Next year we’ll try to improve our social media presence,” she said.
Erickson emphasized that volunteers make the difference between a good fair and a great fair. “We could not make this happen without volunteers,” she emphasized.
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
Image 1 Caption: Volunteers stop for a photo during their wild time checking in and judging open class entries at the 4-H building. From left: Becky Flynn, Karen Noyes, Fair Manager Jessica Erickson, Jodi Hauser, Emily Clark, Val Hornsveld, Desiree Taves, Amy Courence, Tayla Snapp, Kasee Clark and Deanna Gobbs.
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
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