PORT ANGELES — For those who attended the Clallam County Fair on any day last week, the first people visitors met were teenagers in orange vests, directing cars in parking lots surrounding the fairgrounds.
Instead of spending their time in the fair enjoying the rides and cotton candy, 33 Port Angeles teenagers volunteered 860 hours of public service over the four days of the fair, Maj. Leo Campbell said Sunday.
They represented about half of the members of the Port Angeles High School Navy JROTC organization, parking cars as a fundraiser to help pay for the expenses of the organization.
“Some went above and beyond the call of duty,” Campbell said.
Some, such Jordan Johnson, a junior, volunteered to work 13-hour shifts all four days, often explaining to frustrated drivers that there was no parking left in their lot.
At the gates and inside, more volunteers greeted visitors, took tickets, picked up trash, emptied trash cans and helped to manage the many events that take place during the fair.
Some volunteers were part of nonprofit organizations who are paid to perform public service during the fair, while others volunteered directly for the Clallam County Fair.
Volunteers are priceless, said Angie Pelham, fair special events assistant.
Last year, Clallam County Fair volunteers put in 3,558 hours, man-hours the fair could not begin to afford to pay.
“We couldn’t put on a fair without them,” Pelham said.
The hours counted by the fair office do not include the many thousands of hours put in by volunteers from the many organizations that take part in the fair.
Booths were staffed by volunteers, including the Clallam County Emergency Management Division’s emergency response vehicle.
Bruce Reiter, a Community Emergency Response Team and Amateur Radio Emergency Services volunteer who was on hand to offer information on the two programs and urge participation in “The Great Washington Shake Out,” an statewide disaster drill to be held at 10:18 a.m.
Oct. 18.
“You can learn how to make it better, how to make it safer,” Reiter said, noting that the region presents several natural disaster scenarios, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
