Sunflower Fest 2010 - Thanks to Everyone!

Sunflower Fest 2010 was held on Saturday, July 24th this year. The Garden Walk included 18 Participants this year. The gorgeous gardens were open for public tours from 1 til 4 pm that Saturday. Immediately after the Garden Walk, people began pouring into the Bottling Works for the evening Events which included many “Sunflower” contests, a BBQ dinner and some scrumptious home baked desserts, highlighted by the Auction of Wooden Sunflowers to benefit Local Charities. All 19 Sunflowers were locally sponsored and decorated.

Sunflower Fest 2010 would not have been possible without the help of our wonderful event sponsors. We would like to thank Dr. Vijay Chowdhary, the Hampshire Review, Romney ON TRAC, Northern Eagle Distributors, Romney Dairy Queen, Shaffer Funeral Home, Global Capital of World Peace, FNB Romney, Bank of Romney, Michelle Blumhagen, Hampshire County Library, Greenwood Florist, Jimmy See and Farm Credit for their generous contributions.

Sunflower Fest 2010 Charity Sunflower Auction
Charity...............................Sponsored by............ Artist ...................Purchased by and Amount
Toys from the Heart Patty Anderson Esther Smallwood Kim Mayhew for $130
Humane Society Mario’s Vanessa Skinner Greewood Florists $75
Romney 250 Marla Pisciotta Marla Pisciotta Kim Mayhew $90
Sheltered Workshop B’Belles Boutique Vanessa Skinner Nancy Bowman $65
Romney Food Pantry Teresa Dillon Teresa Dillon Eric Strite $75
Hospice of the Panhandle Ben Elkins Sue Smith Donna Duncan $45
Loy Foundation Loy Foundation Linda Landis Stuart McIntyre $220
Energy Express Hamp Co. Community Foundation Carmen Davis $50
ALS Carol Shaw Carol Shaw Carol Shaw $60
Romney Food Pantry Romney UM Church Robin Pancake Kenneth Rogers $130
Helping Hands Anderson’s Corner Patty Anderson Kim Mayhew $45
Loy Foundation Mayhew Chevrolet V. Lynne Moore Sherri Myers $55
GFWC Scholarship Fnd GFWC Romney Jeannie Hampton Carol Waddell $80
Romney 250 Romney 250 Robin Pancake Ruth Rowan $260
Hospice of the Panhandle Bladen & Sally Lowndes Bess Rexrode Mary French Barbe $120
HC Public Library HCPL Amanda Snyder Bonnie Long $100
Burlington Childrens Home Carol Waddell Children’s Home Cindy Walk $40
HC Chamber of Commerce HCCC Anne Renee Livingston Pat Cronin $360
HC Arts Council HCAC V. Lynne Moore Teresa Dillon $80
Total $1900 for our Sunflowers with other Auction proceeds and donations bringing in $404.56. Baked Goods Auction and Baked Goods Table brought in $460 this year! Thanks to all of our wonderful bakers including the 22 members of the GFWC of Romney who contributed to the Bake Sale. Thanks to Cindy Johnson for EmCeeing the Event and to Peter and Louise Blauvelt who announced all the winners in Sunflower contests and competitions. Thanks to Jimmy See and his family who volunteered to auction for the 2nd year in a row.

Winners in the 2010 Garden Walk were announced at the evening festivities at The Bottling Works. Winners in the Residential Category were - Gerald Mathias won Most Attractive Use of Space and Material,Tanya Rogers won Most Attractive Flower & Sunflower Garden, and Bill and Nancy Bowman won Most Attractive Overall Yard. Winners in the Business/Organization Category were - GFWC of Romney at Indian Mound won Most Attractive Greenscape. Sue Smith Bakery won Most Attractive Yard for a Business, Dillon’s Country Treasures won Most Attractive Storefront.

Lots of fun and competitions on Saturday Evening at The Bottling Works. Thanks to Chelsea Kuykendall and Callie....... (call Jennie Mathias for spelling) for doing Face Painting for everyone. We had 7 Participants in the Silk Arrangement Competition. 1st Place went to Janet Haines, 2nd Place to Kim Mayhew and 3rd Place to Judy Blaha.

There were 10 competitors in the Sunflower Hat Contest.Belinda Shoemaker won Best Hat in the Show, Mikayle Shank won the prize for Most Unique Hat, Jean Shoemaker won for Most Colorful Hat and V. Lynn Moore won the Hat Re-Gift Category.

Thanks to all of our Sunflower Hat, Arrangement and Garden Walk Participants and Judges: Peter Blauvelt, Sydney Pierce, Carol Shaw, Bonnie Wilcox, Jennifer (June) Everett, Janet Woodson, and Kellie Moreland.

The contests were fun and very popular with the folks attending. The Little Sunflower Outfit Contest for ages 0 to 10 years old was a big hit. The children were adorable! 8 children participated. All the children were winners! Thanks to Eileen Johnson for Overseeing the Little Sunflower Outfit Contest and to Brenna Young, Miss Outstanding Teen for Hampshire County, who assisted her. Thanks also to our judges, Linda Davis, Larry Johnson, Officer Gunther Heinz and Kendra Wolford, Little Miss Sunshine 2009.

Thanks to the Millstone BBQ for a great dinner and to Larry Brown, Jan Gillies and The Mountain Momma Band for the enjoyable music.

Last but not least, we could not have had such a great Sunflower Fest without the help of our wonderful volunteers. Many thanks to the dozens of people who donated their time and energy to help Romney ON TRAC make the Sunflower Fest 2010 happen. Special thanks to Sally Lowndes, Garden Tour organizer, to Wanda Rogers, Baked Goods Table/Auction organizer, to Anne Renee Livingston, Wooden Sunflower project organizer, and to Amanda Snyder, our most talented Graphic Designer, and to Marla Pisciotta and the Hampshire Review for the great newspaper coverage. To the dozens of others, we will never forget all you did to help!

Romney ON TRAC’s goals for the Sunflower Fest were:
1. To raise awareness for Local Charities and Non Profit Organizations, their need for volunteers and monetary support.
2. Beautification Project for our area and raise awareness for greenscape projects.
3. To bring many diverse groups together to provide a wonderful Event for our residents and friends.
Thanks to everyone for helping us meet our goals!

We have scheduled a Wrap Up Meeting for anyone who sponsored, volunteered or participated for Thursday evening, August 19th, at 7pm at the Gazebo next to Mario’s. We will discuss this year’s Event, what was positive, and what improvements we can make for the next Sunflower Fest that evening as well. In case of rain, we will move to the Hampshire County Public Library. If you cannot attend but would like to contribute, please send your comments to andersonscorner@gmail.com.