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HomeMy WebLinkAbout47_Mayors Newsletter_072717For the past 32 years, Renton residents have enjoyed a weekend of fun events for the entire family. This year was no different. The annual Renton River Days festival was kicked off Thursday by the traditional Senior Day Barbecue at the Renton Community Center, complete with live music. This very popular event has been sponsored for many years by local attorney Dan Kellogg. The Renton Annual Art Show Preview party was held Thursday evening, drawing a large group of artists and supporters of local art for great hors d’oeuvres, wine, and chamber music. The festival has historically been geared towards children and families, making sure there are ample activities to keep kids busy for several days. All day Friday and Saturday there were featured activities at Liberty Park. The Wenatchee Youth Circus performed two shows at Cedar River Park on Friday. A highlight this year was John Keister, the former celebrity from KING 5’s Almost Live, who served as the parade’s grand marshal. John has been a regular contributor to many of our economic development efforts over the past couple years. We use his former jabs at Renton as a way to brag about all of the new development and investment in our city today. The parade was once again a crowd pleaser, even though the Seafair Pirates were unable to join us due to a schedule conflict. However, we did have the Seafair Clowns and they always bring excitement to the faces of the children lining Third Avenue. We will be looking into new ideas to make the parade even more community-oriented, including participation by our Neighborhood Associations. Renton River Days continues to be a successful, family-oriented festival that draws thousands of people each year. It’s important to note that this event is possible due to the generous sponsorships from IKEA, Boeing, First Financial Northwest Bank, Renton Rotary, Republic Services and Seafair. Another major contributor to the festival’s success is the time and effort put forth by many Renton River Days volunteers and city employees. The volunteers contribute hundreds of hours working on all aspects of the festival from staging parade participants to ensuring all the events you enjoyed over the weekend go off without a hitch. Dozens of city employees, ranging from Community Services staff to Public Works and police officers, also spend many hours working to make sure our residents have a very positive experience. See more of my favorite River Days parade photos JULY 27, 2017 This Week from the Mayor Denis Law, Mayor VOL. II, NO. 24 Farmers Market volunteers entry received the Mayor’s Trophy in the Renton River Days Parade. (Photo by Denis Law). River Days Festival brings joy to thousands The Seafair Clowns added their own antics to the parade. (Photo by Denis Law) Feedback Comments, questions or suggestions, or just want to share all the great things that are happening in the city, please email me. Thanks for reading. Just like this community, the Renton Chamber of Commerce has undergone a lot of changes over the past three decades. Lucy Crozier has seen them all. She has had a front-row seat for the past 26 years as the chamber’s receptionist. I served on the board of the chamber for a number of years and chaired the board 17 years ago. Lucy has always been the cheerful greeter at the Chamber office or the friendly voice at the end of the phone, reminding us about important meetings that were coming up or other duties expected of board members. She served six chamber CEOs and countless numbers of board members, business owners and chamber events over all these years. Lucy has watched as this community has grown from one that was not well known, other than by those who worked for Boeing or PACCAR, to a city that has much to brag about these days, a place where people want to live, learn and locate their businesses. At a young 88 years of age, she told me that the traffic has gotten to a point where she doesn’t look forward to driving to work every day. We know how you feel, Lucy! We wish Lucy all the best in her well-deserved retirement. Lucy Crozier retires after 26 years at Renton Chamber A special thank you Hundreds of volunteers, collectively contributing over 5,000 hours each year, are the backbone of Renton River Days. We are fortunate to have dozens of volunteers serving as chairpersons to the festival. The volunteers listed below have given at least ten years of service. I’d like to salute them and thank them for their commitment to our community. Vicki Faull Jeff Lukins Linda Middlebrooks Sharon Murphy Tim Searing Robin Gregoris Randy Matheson Sharon Moats Vicki Navarro Jace Werre Carol Janssen