ANNUAL RAFFLE: 2005 Raffle Preseason | About the Raffle | 2004 Raffle Winner

Vol. 18, No. 1, July 4, 2005

IN THIS ISSUE:

This Reveille Home Page | The Friday Program: Seafair! | On the Calendar | Friday Potpourri | | Classification Talk: Tom Harrelson | Web Fun

The Friday Program:
Seafair!

Rourke O’Brien introduced our speaker, Beth Wojick, President/CEO of Seafair. Beth is a Seattle Four Rotarian and visit lots of clubs; she said we are the best club she has ever been to!

Seafair actually starts July 2nd and runs through the summer. Most people think of Seafair and think of the hydros, the Blue Angels, the Torchlight Parade and maybe the Milk Carton Derby. But, Seafair is much more! There are over 40 events that are a part of Seafair.

Seafair began in the 1950’s with the hydros. Today, it requires 5000 volunteers and 10-12 year-round staff. The big goal of Seafair is to create something for everyone. Five years ago Seafair looked at adding a new event that would fit with the mission, “To connect and celebrate the community spirit of the Puget Sound.” It was important for Seafair to look at their business plan and make sure the new event wouldn’t upset their core business. With endurance sports growing in interest and participation, a marathon seemed like a good idea. This year, the new event is finally being added. The Virginia Mason Team Medical Marathon will be held July 10th to benefit cancer research.

Finding a host city was the first challenge, the Puget Sound isn’t known for having 26.2 miles of relatively flat roadway. Bellevue however fit the bill and has been extremely easy to work with and enthusiastic. There are several things you have to pay attention to when developing a marathon course: 1) fast and flat, 2) weather, 3) safety, and 4) relief stations. The course will start and end at Bellevue Square and cover 26.2 miles of Bellevue. The date was selected after much research on marathons and weather. On July 10th, it will be 58 degrees at 7:00am, the perfect starting temperature, and it will be 62 degrees by the end of the race. (Now we know why Phoenix has there marathon in January).

The regional goal is 6000 participants in 2005 and 10,000 in 2007. This compares to nationally ranked marathons that draw 30,000 participants. This event will also require an additional 1000 volunteers.

One thing that many people don’t know is that every year Seafair has to apply to get the Blue Angels. We don’t know until December if they will be coming. They do love coming to Seattle though because we treat them like rock stars! There are only three shows that the Blue Angels repeat, and Seafair is one of them. It is also one of two air shows over water. Prepping for the Blue Angels is not easy since they require a five mile shut down area, which includes Renton Field, Kenmore, and one runway at Seatac.

Beth told a few sunny stories (well, now she looks back and laughs). Including the time a guy brought a barge out to the log boom and used a chainsaw to cut a whole in the wall to see the races. Unfortunately, he and his friends left the barge there after the festivities were all done.

Another time Edgar Martinez was supposed to be the Grand Marshall for the Torchlight Parade, but it just so happened that it was the same day the Mariners game went into the 13th inning. Now you have Mariners traffic letting out, Clydesdale horses ready to prance, runners ready to run, and Edgar in the shower. It all worked out, though, and the parade did happen with a little chaos.

To find out about all of the Seafair events, go to www.seafair.com.

At the end of the program, John DeWater asked if the BBRC could get our barge back!

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