By Justin Aufdermauer
Executive Director
On June 23rd, get ready to ‘Party in the Pasture’ for the 61st annual June Dairy Parade. You might remember last year we changed the parade route and started on 11th Street and ended at Good Speed Park. This seemed to work well during downtown construction and for our local law enforcement who have to keep the highway closed while the parade floats go by, so we are using this same route again this year.
And, for the first time in 61 years, entry forms for the June Dairy Parade are available online in a fillable form. Head to www.junedairyparade.com to fill out the entry form before the May 31st deadline. It’s a quick and painless process and if nothing else, it will save you a stamp.
If you don’t have access to a computer and prefer to have a paper version, you can either pick one up at the Chamber headquarters or email info@tillamookchamber.org and we will mail you one.
Also available at junedairyparade.com is the application for the Grand Marshal of the June Dairy Parade. The Grand Marshal gets to ride at the front of the parade each year, and we supply the car, driver and banner with their name on it. They are also honored at a luncheon with the June Dairy Parade Committee, and are invited to the breakfast with the Rosarians the morning of the parade. The Rosarians plant a rose every year on parade day in front of the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, and dignitaries are invited to attend that ceremony, including the Grand Marshal.
To qualify, an application should have a strong connection to the dairy industry and a history of community involvement and volunteerism. If you’d like to nominate someone for this honor, try to be as specific as possible about their community involvement. Those applications are due by May 18th, so that our committee has time to review and choose an official Grand Marshal. Our hope is that by making this application available online, more people will feel inclined to make a nomination.
We tried this technique for the first time last year by putting applications for our annual Chamber Business Awards online. It appeared to make a difference, as we received more nominations than any previous year – a good indication that our community is ready and willing to get with the 21st century-way of doing things.
And don’t forget, we are also accepting vendor applications for the Tillamook Farmers Market. Yes, this is also available online at tillamookfarmersmarket.com under the Vendor tab. If you have any questions, you can email sayde@tillamookchamber.org. Vendors have until May 1 to get their applications in for the 2018 season, which starts June 16 and runs through September 29.
It’s going to be an eventful summer as always, and we hope you will join us either as a parade participant or at least come out and watch all the fun.