Help out today!

Fairs and rodeos are, for the most part, over for the year. It seems that there is a real need for more people to step up to help at these venues.

Why are local organizations finding it difficult to get volunteers to help at their booth, cooking, selling or running games such as Bingo?

Well a couple of weeks ago in the large paper that is printed in the big city northeast of here there was a picture in the Northwest section of a woman that was having the time of her life riding on a swimming pool flotation device being pulled and gliding on a Slip-and Slide. At first, I thought that was kind of cool since it was at a retirement village in Spokane.

Then I read that the person enjoying her youth again was Ritzville's own Gaynel Gering. There she was with her hands and feet in the air and the joy of being able to feel the heat of summer with a bit of breeze and feel the excitement bringing out the kid in her.

To be honest, I was a bit jealous. But then it also occurred to me that one of our best community volunteers for the fair, museums and the list goes on has moved on. And let's not forget her husband, who also has done a lot for the community.

When they moved to Spokane we lost a couple who are difficult to replace when it comes to helping out.

It seems that those people who have made such a big difference in our communities have either passed on, moved to be near families or specialized medical care or have a need for some assistance on a day to day basis. In other words, they have done everything they could and then some to make their community a great place to live. But now, it is time for others to step up to lend a hand.

I have met some great people that have moved to the area for a lot of different reason and it is interesting just how much they want to give back - even though they may have only lived here for less than 5-10 years. Their help and interest is awesome. One of the boards that I serve on has 10 people, yet only three of us have lived here the majority of our lives and I replaced Gaynel on the board. I should say I took over her duties because you can't replace someone like Gaynel.

This year at the Ralston Grange Bingo booth, we had trouble finding volunteers. But lo and behold, there were high school-aged kids and younger that were willing to work a three-hour shift and help out a great tradition that goes back to at least the 1950's. Yes it was a bit warm in the Bingo building, bet I think everyone had fun playing a fun game and the food was great as usual also. And the young teenagers did a great job helping us.

I know we all took a big hit with COVID. We heard so much about COVID - but I think the only thing that they got right was that there would be many strains after the initial outbreak but each one would be less severe. Yeah, that sounds about right. We keep hearing about someone testing positive but they only seem to be under the weather for a few days.

For those people who are still afraid to go outside I'd say you're missing out on great activities. Football kicked off last Friday night in the high school ranks and volleyball on Saturday.

There are a lot of ways to help out the local sports teams, but the best way is to show up and cheer loudly.

The downtown took a hit in the last few years and could also use your support. Some very fine community-minded people have invested a lot to bring old buildings back to life with a new business and they need our support. The next time you say there is nothing to do here go downtown and see what's going on. And thank those people who spent hard-earned money on bringing downtown back to life.

Face it folks, there are a lot of ways to support your favorite team, event, organization or business but you have to leave your house first. The community needs your help. Get started today.

- Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].