Dear Editor:
An exciting first-time event happened in our community this month, an Air Show and Races featuring “Formula One” competition. A big public THANK YOU is in order to the committee who worked so hard to pull it off: Lance Gale, Brandi Barney-Rodriguez, Chris Christensen, Dan Brown, Christina Sawyer, EK McDaniel, John Fitzgerald, Lloyd Phillips Meg Rhoades, Randy Ewell, and Wayne Cameron.
There were many others who helped. It took a ton of volunteer hours before, during and after the races. So much had to be considered and planned for. Technical support and donations were provided by a number of different individuals, organizations, and companies. Concession stands, vendors, displays, the radio station and a local company printing Air Race Shirts on-site were all part of the fun. It took enthusiasm and people working together – a good definition perhaps of “community”.
The races? Very small planes flew an oval course about 100 feet off the ground at speeds over 200 mph! The pilots reportedly loved our areas, and how well things went. I had a great time too, and hope this amazing activity is able to be repeated here next June.
Sincerely,
Jean Philips
To the Editor:
Something needs to be done about the speeders at the lower portion of Campton Street. I have personally witnessed cars and trucks – including city and county vehicles – travelling in excess of 45 miles per hour on the stretch between the courthouse and Sew Crazy.
Not only are there animals at risk in this area – dogs, cats, and deer – but the Schoofs’ grandchildren live there as well. The White Pine County Sheriff’s Department has an obligation to protect the citizens of this community. This includes putting a stop to the out of control speeding that is taking place on a daily basis on Campton Street, during both the daylight and night time hours.
I have urged the members of the City Council to put pressure on the Sheriff’s Department in this regard. Animals have already died on Campton Street in this stretch of roadway. It would add to this tragedy if a child were also killed, just because City and County employees and the general public are in too much of a hurry to obey the speed limit.
Leslie Sears
The air races
The air races required the efforts of many people who put forth the time for a first time event which is not easy to do. As I attended the races at different times on the different days there were a few questions that arose. Was there a media blitz for the event in areas like Elko, Wells, Wendover, Twin Falls, Idaho (there are always Idaho cars passing through here), Salt Lake City, Utah (talking with a pilot in Salt Lake City said he had not heard about the races), or Las Vegas (I did talk to three people from Las Vegas who were up here for the races)? Were any television stations in surrounding areas asked to cover the event? Were any of the Air Force bases contacted to possibly do a fly over on a couple of the days or bring in any helicopters or other planes for show that the people could tour? I have seen Blackhawk and Apache helicopters land at the airport. The pricing was very high compared to what took place. None of the RV slots were used and very few people even attended and the local people were left out because of the high prices. I compared this to the prices charged at the Reno Air Races. Reno draws in the Formula 1, P-51, jets, etc for their races. The vendors lost big time with the cost of food and time. There was one event (on Saturday night) when there it was said to be events on the other nights. Madalyn’s food trailer paid a $300.00 air race fee and a $175.00 event fee. At the air races they were placed farther away from the people than the others. Those working Madalyn’s food trailer were both professional chefs that have worked a number of years at Park City, Utah restaurants during the ski seasons. Their food was chosen to give quality food to those who ate there. They lost big time from the lack of events and people at the air races. Others lost money as well. There wasn’t any mention of the air races in the local newspaper on the weekend of races and I stayed around after the final races and talked to one of racers and I didn’t notice any awards ceremony take place nor did I see any mention of the race in the newspaper the following weekend. The only flyer that I saw was an 8.5 x 11 inch poster. Nothing stating the events at the park. Big disappointment. I hope I am wrong on some of the things that I said but for the most part it is an accurate statement.
O.K., FOLKS – do it, or don’t do it.
But don’t muck about with it half-assed and expect success to simply materialize magically.
Running something on Facebook and walking away doesn’t begin to get the job done.
So if you don’t know how or lack the creativity or fortitude HIRE SOMEONE WHO DOES.
Nothing much worse than a missed opportunity – you may be too close to it, but Ely isn’t the direct center of the known universe to people outside of Ely. Stand back a few feet and consider your customer/audience/tourist. And why wasn’t there a page of photos dedicated to the event on this website? Or was there?