Letter: Volunteers made celebration a success

This year’s Septemberfest was a huge success because of all the volunteer help and donations that were received.
Friday afternoon at Nichols Store, Mrs. Pat Hejl, Mrs. Peggy Rector and I seasoned and wrapped 44 roasts in an hour 45 minutes for the dinner on Labor Day.
Saturday started out with 68 people running in the annual Buzzard 5K run/walk hosted by the Recreation and Park District staff. Next the Rangely Police Department hosted its annual Bike Rodeo, in which the police department inspected bikes, led participants through an obstacle course and ended the event by giving away several new bikes. The Bike Rodeo was followed up by the Recreation and Park District setting up the inflatables for all to enjoy. The day in Elks Park ended with the chili cook-off, which had 10 red chilis and five green chilis submitted for tasting and voting. The Ranch Rodeo was in full swing at Columbine Park, which was run by Wade and Hank Allred and had several teams participate in different events.
Sunday was kicked off with the ice cream social at the Rangely Museum and hosted by the museum board. They had live music and many enjoyed eating ice cream and dessert provided by Kelvin White, who cooked his desserts Dutch-oven style. This year’s waffle ball tournament saw six two-person teams participate and the championship games had to be moved to a different date due to the remaining teams needing to go to other functions; date and time are still being determined on the completion. Sunday evening several people listened to the Luke Ham Family Sandwich gospel band. While all of this was going on Jeff LeBleu and several members of the Rangely Elks Club were burning wood in the fire pit to prepare it for the beef, which was delivered that evening by Jeff Rector and his son Brian. The beef was then lowered into the fire pit; covered and left overnight to cook.
Labor Day on Monday was kicked off by the annual pancake breakfast sponsored by the Rangely Rural Fire Protection District and it had more than 200 people enjoy the delicious breakfast that the firemen prepared. This was followed by the parade in which Mr. Carl Rector was the grand marshal. The parade led everyone to Elks Park for a day of activities. There were more than 70 vendors for the arts and crafts show this year with several different items and displays of products for all to enjoy. The car show had 55 entries this year and the event was run by Jerry LeBleu Jr. The Rangely Animal Shelter hosted Woof Fest, which saw several entries and many of the K-9s were dressed to the hilt. While all of this was going on the beef was being raised out of the pit and transported to the park for the meal. While the food was being served to approximately 1,300 people, the Yampa Valley Boys played their bluegrass music while everyone enjoyed a perfect day in the park.
Please help us recognize and thank the following for all of their volunteerism and donations in making this year Septemberfest a huge success:
Chevron, Stewart Welding, Alliance Energy, Inc., Duco, Inc., Moon Lake Electric, True Value Hardware, Rangely District Hospital, Nichols Store, First National Bank of the Rockies, Mrs. Pat Hejl, Carl and Peggy Rector, Jeff, Rebecca and Brian Rector, Bill Hume, Wade Allred, Chris Allred, Debbie Smith, Hank Allred, Crandal Mergelman, Thad Noyes, Rangely Police Department, Town of Rangely, Rio Blanco County Board of County Commissioners, Western Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District, Rangely Museum, Rangely Rural Fire Protection District, Jerry LeBleu, Jeff LeBleu, Derek Stolworthy, Rangely Elks Club, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rangely Rock Crawlers, Katherine Lopez, Michelle Wells
If I have inadvertently forgotten somebody, I do apologize and your assistance in making Septemberfest a success is truly appreciated!
Timothy J. Webber
Executive Director
Western Rio Blanco Metro. Recreation and Park District