Festivals - Fathoms O' Fun 2015

Fathoms O’ Fun Festival 2015 Port Orchard on the Waterfront June 27 - July 4

Come and be part of the fun!

Parade, Concerts, Activities, Vendors, Food & More A special supplement to the Port Orchard Independent

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Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

A warm welcome to Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

T

By SHARRON KING Fathoms chair

he Fathoms O’ Fun Festival Board would personally like to invite you to come and enjoy the many activities taking place on June 27 and 28 in downtown Port Orchard for our Grand Parade and Summer Festival. We will have more than 60 vendors to tickle your shopping delight beginning Saturday morning through Sunday late afternoon.

Our Grand Parade begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and will dazzle you with all the thrills and delights of a parade —10 outof-town community festival floats in addition our very own award-winning float, drill teams, drum lines, novelty entries, car clubs, commercial units, horses and more!

I’d like to once again personally thank Jessie and Jud Turner for their commitment and dedication to Fathoms and the 25 years that they have been in charge of our parade!

Your Fathoms board and volunteers work very hard all year long to bring great events to Port Orchard. This year, over Memorial Day weekend, we had our second annual Seagull Splat 5K Run. It was a “splatting” success and a everyone had a good time. We invite you to do the run next year.

It is hard to imagine all the hours that go into making these events happen. Our Fathoms O’ Fun Royal Court puts in many public appearances and can be seen at all of our events and many more community events, where other organizations and

commercial businesses have requested them. By the time their reign is up, they will have cumulatively put in over 1,500 hours.

Our concert series has started on Thursday nights and will continue through the last Thursday in August with a final concert on Sunday, Sept. 6 at the Taste of Port Orchard.

We have Sharron King great concerts scheduled so come on down, and not only enjoy the free concerts but enjoy the beautiful marina, visit with old friends, meet some new friends, feast on a hot dog at our Fathoms concessions booth, watch the kids play in the park as you listen to the great music, and just capture all there is to enjoy on the waterfront. Check our website at www.fathomsofun.org for full the concert listing.

The Fourth of July Grand Fireworks Show over Sinclair Inlet, sponsored by WAVE, along with Grey Chevrolet as a community sponsor, will bring a lot of activity to the downtown waterfront with various bands scheduled to play from noon to 10:30 p.m.

This annual show brings upwards of 60,000 spectators viewing the show.

On the second Sunday in August you can once again find Fathoms down on Bay Street for our Festival By the Bay Craft and Vendor Show in conjunction with the Saints Car Club Cruz 2015.

This one-day event draws upwards of 25,000 or more people. Come enjoy good times, good fun, good food and try your luck at dunking the Fathoms Court at the dunk tank.

If you really want to make a big splash, try your luck at dunking Port of Bremerton Commission Larry Stokes and Mayor Tim Matthes – both have agreed to be dunked.

Fathoms will present its third annual Chocolate Festival on Oct. 9-11 at the Port Orchard Pavilion. Yum! There will be a Chocolate Gala on Friday night where you can enjoy all the samplings of chocolatiers and restaurant specialties, a live band for dancing and visiting with friends.

Then, on Saturday and Sunday, there will be a great vendor show, chocolate demonstrations, chocolate sampling and more. Follow us on Facebook and “like” our event.

In November, Fathoms will host a third annual “Breakfast with Santa” at the Eagles to help raise funds for our Royalty Scholarship Program.

Not only will you get to enjoy a great breakfast, but you will also get the opportunity to have a professional photo taken with you and Santa by Deford Photography.

We have wonderful sponsors for our events and appreciate their continued support. Our major sponsors; WAVE,

Sinclair Inlet Fireworks sponsor for the eighth year, Grey Chevrolet as a community sponsor along with MoonDogs Too, South Kitsap Fire & Rescue Volunteers and the Southworth Buccaneers; Columbia Bank, Grand Parade sponsor for the 13th year; Kitsap Bank, Paul Davis Restoration, ServPro, Graphic Reflections, Port of Bremerton and the City of Port Orchard, Concerts by the Bay. Special thanks to Sound Storage and Mile Hill Self Storage. We could not put on these events without the much-needed funding provided by these great sponsors.

My personal thanks and applause to each and every board member: Shirley DeFord, vice chair, professional photography; Brandy Rinearson, treasurer; Deloris Mattson, secretary/buttons & pins; Jessie Turner, Grand Parade; Al Mahaney, float builder/concerts/ Chocolate Festival; Helene Jensen, pageant director/Fathoms graphics; Phil Paquette, fireworks show; Bob Morehouse, All Vendor Shows; Merlyn Lehmkuhl, social media/ photography; Scott Lucke, Seagull Splat Run, SKF&R Volunteers 5K Run; Karen Aquino and Tonya Traylor, royalty assistants, Kim Punt, insurance.

Thank you for reading about Fathoms!

And by the way, we are always looking for volunteers so don’t hesitate to call or email.

Find us at www.fathomsofun.org.

We are volunteering for you, the community.

Fathoms O’ Fun’s purpose is to present family recreational activities for the community, and to encourage leadership skills and scholarship among our youth.

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Fathoms O’ Fun Events

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1. Columbia Bank presents the Fathoms O’ Fun Grand Parade — 6 p.m., June 27, Bay Street

2. HotFoot 5K Race — 9 a.m., June 27, South Kitsap Regional Park

3. Festival by the Sea Craft & Vendor Show — June 27-28, Port Orchard

Waterfront

4. Wave presents the Fathoms O’ Fun Grand Fireworks Show — July 4, 10:30 p.m., Port Orchard Waterfront Park

5. Festival by the Bay/ Cruz Car Show — Aug. 9, 9 a.m - 4 p.m., Bay Street

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Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

2015 Fathoms O’ Fun Grand Parade Lineup 1 2 3 3A 4 5 6 7

Viola Mather

South Kitsap Branch Manager

Community. Family.

Commitment.

What does it mean to be a community? For us it means individuals and families joining together committed to building a stronger, healthier, more vibrant place to live and work. We’re proud to be a part of the Port Orchard community, and applaud the work of the community volunteers in presenting the Fathoms O’ Fun, which brings our community together for a fun-filled summer.

Tenino Motor Cycle Team Leo’s Towing South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Port Orchard Jingle Bell Run 1975 FMC Fire Truck - Richard Osborne Grand Parade Sponsor Columbia Bank Grand Marshall - Billi Gurnsey Mayor Tim Matthes Celebrates Port Orchard’s 125 Years 8 Port Orchard Police Department 9 Kitsap County Sheriff ’s Office 10 Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido 10 Saints Car Club 11 US Congressman Derek Kilmer 12 Washington State Senator Jan Angel 12A Washington State Rep. Jesse Young 12B Washington State Rep. Michelle Caldier 13 Port Orchard Councilwoman Cindy Lucarelli 14 2015 Fathoms O’ Fun Festival Float and Royalty 15 2015 Fathoms O’Fun Festival Duchess 16 2015 Fathoms O’ Fun Festival Junior Royalty 17 2014 Fathoms O’ Fun Royalty 18 Fathoms O’ Fun Honored Past Royalty 19 Fathoms Parade 25 Year Veteran 19A 1994 Corvette - Joe Turner 20 1979 El Camino “Hawk Rod” - Tommy Triggs 21 Kitsap Mustang Club 21 Port Townsend’s Rhododendron Float 22 Wave - Fathoms O’ Fun July 4th Fireworks Sponsor 23 SKHS State Champion Baseball Team 24 SKHS State Champion Track & Field Team 25 SK High School Community Marching Band & School Bus 26 PO Chamber of Commerce Man, Woman, Business of the Year 28 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2669 29 USS Turner Joy (DD-951) 30 Bremerton Base, US Submarine Veterans 31 Nile Shriners 32 Port Orchard Masonic Lodge 33 Rainbow Assembly #61 34 Washington Diamonds Drill Team 35 Ronald McDonald 36 Tulalip Resort Casino Float 37 Salvation Army Kettle Beetle 38 1955 Packard Patrician - Billy McCandless 39 1928 Model A Ford - Locke 40 South Kitsap Pee Wee Cheer 42 Elegance Drill Team Lady’s of Elegance 43 Princesses of Elegance Drill Team 44 Kitsap Mounted Posse 45 Olympia’s Capitol Lakefair Festival Float 46 Miss West Sound’s Outstanding Teen 47 Miss Puget Sound’s Outstanding Teen 48 Miss Port Orchard’s Outstanding Teen 49 Glass Odessey Corvette Club 50 Miss Northwest’s Outstanding Teen

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 85A 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106

Forks Old Fashioned 4th Festival Float NW Horseless Carriage Replica Builders Bethany Lutheran Church - Water of Life Kitsap Arcs Model Flying Club Daffodil Festival Float & Royalty Air Masters Heating Miss Kitsap Miss Poulsbo Miss Silverdale Port Orchard QFC Mile High Gems Cheerleading Moms Across America March Marysville Festival Float & Royalty Soroptimist Intl of Port Orchard Haselwood YMCA Performance Cheerleaders Life Care Center DJ Joe Frank Miss Kitsap Fair & Stampede /Katie Kitsap Miss Katie Kitsap 2014 Clover Valley Vet Service Mason County Forest Festival Float & Royalty All Around Mopars Arrow Lumber & Hardware Electronettes Hi Steppers Drill Team and Drum Squad Electronettes Butterfly Jr Drill Team Rob Putaansuu for Port Orchard Mayor Washington’s Miss Relay for Life Royalty All American Girl Youth Development International Junior Miss Scholarship Port Orchard Yacht Club Sequim Irrigation Festival Float & Royalty Camp Kilimanjaro VBS Clallam County Fair Royalty Just for Kicks School of Dance Port Orchard Library Miss Viking Fest / Little Miss Viking Fest Puget Sound Swim Club Kitsap Saddle Club 1952 Jeep Willis / William & Sally Hubbell Kitsap Credit Union Girl Scouts of South Kitsap NW Small Equine Club Kitsap Alaska USA Credit Union Kitsap Classics Car Club Kitsap Derby Brats Gold Wing Riders Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club Nick Wittington for Port Orchard City Council Port Orchard Eagles People Helping People Taste and See - Calvary Church Open Noah’s Ark Preschool 26th Legislative District Democrats Kitsap Foster Care Association-Be The Village Kitsap Humane Society CRISTA Camps - Miracle Ranch Kitsap Destruction Derby

Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

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Jessie’s the force behind Fathoms O’Fun Parade

By LESLIE KELLY

J

lkelly@soundpublishing.com

essie Turner was about 5 years old when she rode in her first parade.

“It was in Kent,” she said. “My dad knew a man who was a florist and he put me on his float. I remember thinking it was pretty neat because I got to toss flowers out all along the way. Maybe that’s why I love a parade.”

She doesn’t know for sure, but Turner thinks that might just be why she became involved in directing the Fathoms O’ Fun Parade for the past 25 years.

For Turner, her role began shortly after she moved to Port Orchard around 1988.

She lived in King County for many years, but moved to Kitsap County to go to work at the Retsil Veterans Home.

“They were looking for people to come on the board (for Fathoms),” said Turner.

“I’m not sure why but I said ‘Yes.’ I don’t think I knew what I was getting myself in to.”

They assigned her the parade and ever since, that’s been her focus. And soon after she got involved, so did her husband, Jud. “Around that time, we were celebrating Port Orchard’s Centennial,” said Sharron King, chair of Fathoms O’ Fun. “The person we had asked to make the cake backed out and Jessie said ‘Jud can do that.’”

From that point on, the couple has been

a major force for Fathoms. And that means working on the parade almost year-round.

The parade boasts of more than 100 entries. It spans about two hours. Parade entries gather at the staging area and line up at least an hour before the parade begins.

The parade travels from Port Orchard Boulevard down to Bay Street and then goes north on Bay Street to Bethel Avenue.

There are three places along the way where announcers speak to the crowd: at Kitsap Bank, where the BKAT television crew films; Sidney Avenue and Bay Street, where Pastor Tracy Martin uses his “preacher voice” to call out information; and at the main review station at Port Orchard Ford at 1215 Bay St. Most years, the parade involves about 1,200 people, and several thousands line the route to watch, King said.

“We’re one of the best parades in the state,” she said, noting that the committee takes the fathoms float all over to be in other parades. And, in turn, other parade floats come to Port Orchard, too.

This year’s parade will have a large contingent of Shriners clowns, Turner said. There will be 10 floats from out of town, including Marysville, Port Townsend, Sequim, Olympia, Forks and Clallam County.

Port Orchard Mayor Tim Matthes will ride near the front of the parade and will have his grandchildren carrying the Port Orchard 125th Celebration banner. That celebration is set for Sept. 5.

Members of the Port Orchard Soroptomists will show off the 125th Celebration T-shirts for the first time and will hand out coupons for folks to order their own.

And, said Turner, what’s a parade without dignitaries?

Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer and State Sen. Jan Angel will ride at the front of the parade as well. And so will Billi Gurnsey, the grand marshal.

There will be drill teams from Seattle, the Kitsap County Sheriff ’s Office Honor Guard, local car clubs, fire engines, Fathoms Royalty, horses prancing the route, and the South Kitsap Community Band.

“Because school is out when we have our parade, the South Kitsap High School Marching Band isn’t available,” Turner said.

“But we have a great band. It’s kids from the school and members of the community — almost like an alumni school band.”

And this year, the South Kitsap High baseball team and track team will march in the parade to honor their recent state championships. They will be given the Community Spirit Award, King said.

And, very importantly, the Kitsap Destruction Derby will follow at the end, to “take care of what the horses leave behind,” the women said.

Fathoms has a long history, King said.

“There’s always been some kind of festival in Port Orchard,” she said.

“It was first called the ‘Days of ‘49.’ That group disbanded. Then, for a year, it was the Sun Festival. But in the mid 1960s a new group formed.”

That group, which included long-time Port Orchard residents Oliver Hanley and his wife, named the festival Fathoms O’ Fun. “It was a couple of couples sitting around one evening that came up with that name, and it just stuck,” said Turner.

Until 1990, the work was done under the direction of the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce. Then the Fathoms board was formed to take it over and that group became a 501C4, under the Chamber.

The parade and the July 4th fireworks show are the “place keepers,” said King, and the other fathoms events have been added as the years have passed.

Both Tuner and King admit that, while they’re getting older, they love the work.

“It’s that commitment to community that brings us back every year,” said King. “We do it for the kids, and because we love our community.”

And Turner is very proud of her 25-year commitment to Fathoms, but this may be her last at organizing the parade.

“I keep saying that,” she said. “But this year, I think I mean it. I said I was leaving in 2013, and here I am. I would just like some of the younger folks in town to take over.”

She isn’t, however, ruling out riding in next year’s Fathoms parade. Perhaps she’ll go back to the way her parade career began.

Fathoms O’ Fun

Summer Festival June 27th & 28th, July 4th Don’t Miss It

Columbia Bank Sponsors the

Fathoms O’ Fun 48th Grand Parade Saturday, June 27th - 6pm

Bay Street - Downtown Port Orchard

Saturday Activities

8am-10am ......... Firework Fund-raiser Pancake Breakfast at the Lighthouse Restaurant, Sponsored by the Lighthouse Restaurant 9am-9pm.......... Vendor Show & Bouncy Toys 9am-9pm .......... Hydroplane Simulator sponsored by Hopp Racing 9am-6pm .......... Stomp Rockets & Fizzy Fliers Demonstration Near Gazebo area, Sponsored by Civil Air Patrol 10am-12pm....... Color with a Princess 11am-12:30pm.. Liveband Eric & the Steve’s 12pm-3pm ........ Kids Crafts near Bleachers area, Sponsored by Tripp Insurance 1pm-2:30pm ..... Square Dance Demonstration, Gazebo Area, Sponsored by Kitsap Square Dance Association 3pm-5pm .......... Bobbers Fish “N” Music Show 6pm-8pm .......... Columbia Bank’s Grand Parade

Sunday Activities

10am-5pm........ Vendor Show & Bouncy Toys 10am-5pm ........ Hydroplane Simulator sponsored by Hopp Racing 10am-5pm ........ Stomp Rockets & Fizzy Fliers Demonstration Near Gazebo area, Sponsored by Civil Air Patrol 11am-3pm......... Kids Crafts near Bleachers area, Sponsored by Tripp Insurance 12pm-2pm ........ Liveband Eric & the Steve’s 2:30pm-5pm ..... Karaoke, Dance Off & More with “The D.J. Guy” Under the Gazebo

WAVE Sponsors the

Fathoms Annual Grand Fireworks Show July 4th at 10:30pm on Sinclair Inlet Grey Chevrolet - Community Sponsor View from Port Orchard, Bremerton Concerts at the Gazebo 12pm-10:30pm

Fathoms Summer Festival Craft & Vendor Show June 27th & 28th

Port Orchard Waterfront • Great Vendors! Great Food!

Farmers Market Saturday 9am-3pm Children’s Activities all weekend!

Hotfoot 5K Races

Presented by SK Fire & Rescue Volunteers Saturday, June 28th - 9am at SK Regional Park

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Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

Local businesswoman to be grand marshal N

By LESLIE KELLY

lkelly@soundpublishing.com

obody in Port Orchard’s going to let Billi Jean Gurnsey leave town without a great big “goodbye.”

That’s why she’s been chosen to be the grand marshal of the 2015 Fathoms O’ Fun parade.

Gurnsey, who is an advertising manager for the Port Orchard Independent, announced last month that she is moving to Illinois in July to be near to her daughter and brand new granddaughter.

“I was definitely surprised when Sharron (King, Fathoms chairperson) told me that I was picked to be grand marshal,” said Gurnsey. “It was a complete surprise.”

As the story goes, King asked Gurnsey to be a judge for floats in the parade. But it was all a scheme to make sure she’d be available.

And then, at the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce meeting June 11, King asked, “Who has being a parade grand marshal on their bucket list?”

“I thought Sharron was just trying to get us to spend more money on tickets for the monthly raffle and then someone would be drawn to be grand marshal,” Gurnsey said. “When she just said my name, she completely surprised me.”

Gurnsey is well-known in the local community where she has worked and lived for about 20 years.

In 2012, she was selected as the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce’s Woman of the Year.

She was selected for that honor because of her strong commitment to her commu-

nity, said Coreen Haydock, the selection of Gurnsey as grand marshal executive director of the was an easy one for them. chamber at the time.

“This woman continues to work for the Her activities in the comgood of the community even through permunity include being part of sonal challenges and financial difficulties the Port Orchard Chamber of because she sees this community and her Commerce and was president service to its people as her most important duty,” Turner said. in 2005-2006, and Fathoms O‘ And, said King, the community wants Fun as a board member and to thank her for her work by giving her president in 1997. She is still an active volunteer with the festival. the grand marshal designation.

“We love her and we will miss her terShe also devotes time to ribly when she moves,” King said.

Soroptimist International of Gurnsey is Port Orchard just weeks away and was “This woman continues from moving president in to Morris, Ill., 2005-2006. to work for the good of which is about She has served the community ... because an hour southon the United west of Chicago.

Way Board of she sees this community While she hates Directors, the and her service to its peo- to leave Port Port Orchard Bay Street ple as her most important Orchard, she said she needs Association, duty.” to be closer volunteered at her only the Helpline — Jessie Turner to daughter and Food Bank, four-month-old was secretary granddaughter. of the Port Orchard Yacht Having been in many Fathoms parades, Club in 2006-2007 and she knows the ropes. But she’s never been served on the advisory board a grand marshal. at South Kitsap High School.

So, she’s practicing her parade wave.

She has been the chairperson of the Chamber’s Murder “Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist. Touch your Mystery Weekend and initipearls and blow a kiss,” she said. “Isn’t Contributed photo ated the Chamber’s annual that how it goes?”

Billi Jean Gurnsey will be the grand marshal of the 2015 Business Showcase.

She worked for Wave Business Fathoms board member Solutions before coming to Sound Fathom’O Fun parade. She has been active in the Port Jessie Turner and King said Publishing in 2013.

Orchard Community for many years.

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Snapshots from 2014 Fathoms O’ Fun

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Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

Bremerton native is a car buff and a Seahawks fan F

By LESLIE KELLY

lkelly@soundpublishing.com

or Tommy Triggs, it’s all about cars and sports.

“There are only two true passions in life,” said Triggs. “Hot rods and sports.”

And Triggs has combined them into something that he’s becoming known for. It’s his 1979 El Camino Malibu hot rod that’s all decked out in Seahawks colors. He calls it the “Hawk rod.”

And that rig will be in the upcoming Fathoms O’ Fun Parade on June 27 in downtown Port Orchard.

From the time the Yakima resident saw the old El Camino for sale in the parking lot of Walmart back in 2010, he knew he had to have it.

“That model, the Chevy El Camino with the Malibu front end was only made from 1978 to 1981,” Triggs said.

“It’s a real collector’s item.”

But when he looked at the car, it had a damaged passenger side quarter panel which he thought would be too expensive to replace, especially because the seller was asking $2,500 for the car.

“It had a lot of dents that would need to be pounded and sanded out,” Triggs said. “I just thought he was asking too much.”

But he wrote down the seller’s phone number and kept it. A few months later, he noticed the car was gone. So he called the seller to see if he’d sold it and found out that he still had it.

“The guy said he needed to sell it by

the end of the week, or he’d be going to jail,” Triggs said. “He needed $1,000 to stay out of jail, so I offered that for the El Camino and he said ‘deal.’”

From there, it took Triggs two years to get the car into shape. He sanded it down and painted it himself. He knew he was going to use the Seattle Seahawks theme because he’s a long-time fan.

“I was there when the first football was kicked off in the Kingdome,” he said. “I’ve been with the Seahawks from the beginning.”

Since he lived over the mountains, snow kept him from getting to a few games that first year. So he ended up buying a four-wheel drive vehicle and season tickets, so he wouldn’t miss a game.

And when the Kingdome was imploded, he took home a piece of the Astro Turf.

“You just don’t know who may have run over that piece — ­ Jim Zorn, Steve Largent — it could have been anybody,” he said.

As for the current team, he thinks the Seahawks have done a great job of putting talent together. He’s proud to take his Seahawks El Camino to tailgate parties and parades.

He’s been in the Union Gap Christmas parade prior to the 2015 Superbowl, and was in the 2014 Superbowl Parade in Seattle. He’s been in the Washington State Fair Parade. Recently, he had his car in the Bremerton Armed Forces Day Parade.

Contributed Photo

Tommy Triggs, a former resident of Bremerton has decked out his 1979 El Camino Malibu in Seahawk blue and green. He’ll drive it in the Fathoms O’ Fun parade.

Contributed Photo

At a recent car show, a spectator checks out Trigg’s 1979 El Camino Malibu which comes complete with a football field and goal post in the back.

Triggs grew up in Bremerton and is a graduate of West Bremerton High School. In high school, he took auto shop classes and knew he wanted to spend his life around cars. Following high school, in 1964, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and served in Vietnam.

“One year, seven months and 12 days,” he said of his time in Vietnam.

He and a high school friend signed up for the Buddy-Buddy Plan, in which the Army would take two guys who knew each other and keep them together during their service. Triggs’ buddy made it in the Army, but he didn’t.

“I was walking in downtown Bremerton and I saw the Uncle Sam poster pointing right at me,” he said.

“There was a Marine recruiting center right there, so I just walked in.”

They needed mechanics and that was that. Triggs became a Marine.

He’s always been an active member of the Handlers Car Club in the Bremerton-Port Orchard area. He was a mechanic in the Marines and also operated auto repair shops in Bremerton, Ellensburg and Yakima.

“Everything from auto body repair to

towing, to engine work,” he said. “You name it, I’ve done it.”

Hot rods are his big thing and he’s a collector. He’s had a ‘49 Chevy and a ‘57 Sedan. But his all-time love is his ‘79 El Camino Malibu.

“It’s just fun to take it places and watch people react,” Triggs said.

“Wherever I go, I yell ‘Sea’ and people yell ‘Hawks’ back at me.”

Contributed Photo

The Seahawk El Camino Malibu.

Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

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Let the fun begin!

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Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

What it means to be Fathoms O’ Fun Festival Royalty

DeFord Photography

Senior Court, from left, Princess Tamra Medal, Queen Charlotte Whitten, Princess Cheyenne Werbelo and Duchess Soriandy Sutman.

O

By HELENE JENSEN Pageant Director

ne might ask, what is Fathoms O’ Fun? Growing up in Port Orchard in the 1970s, Fathoms O’ Fun was a household name.

To be part of Fathoms meant you were someone special. Businesses would line up for the opportunity to be a sponsor, as well as girls for the opportunity to run for and maybe make it to the Fathoms O’ Fun Court.

Times have changed, but what Fathoms represents has not. Fathom O’ Fun, for those who do not know, is a community organization run completely by volunteers. Our volunteers work tirelessly providing you with rich and inviting events within the South Kitsap

community.

One of the many aspects of Fathoms is a scholarship program for our youth.

For the past 48 years we have been enriching our youth by helping their college dreams come true.

Our program provides much more than just monies for college, we also provide them invaluable connections to local community businesses, as well as the ability to expand their communication skills to help them acquire future jobs, and gain confidence in who they are and who they can grow into as an individual.

There are two ways you can be a member on the royalty court — a Junior Princess, where candidates are in grades 7 and 9; or a Senior Court member in

Grade 10 to the age of 20 years old.

The selection process is tedious, but rewarding.

Each member is required to develop a platform, which is simply something that they are passionate about.

Once they determine what that passion is, they are required to write a 500 word essay, which is judged by well-known Port Orchard writer Debbie Macomber.

Along with writing their speech, they are also required to be able to deliver the speech orally to

ROYALTY Continued on Page 11

Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

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ROYALTY From Page 10 several civic groups in the South Kitsap area, such as Rotary, Soroptimist, Lions, Kiwanis, and the Eagles just to name a few.

To help them prepare for the speaking engagements, the Sidney Toastmaster group critiques the contestants to help them for their final speeches.

On top of all of that, each contestant is also required to go through a private interview where they are asked questions on their platform and their court application for 10 minutes by a panel of five judges that consist of community business owners DeFord Photography and past court members.

Junior Court, from left, Junior Princesses Alli Newhouse, Maria Hoyt On pageant and Madilynn Mackie. night, each contestant is also them in various community events required to answer an impromptu question, perform a tal- happening in the surrounding area. ent and model evening wear to demon- In just four short months they have already put in more than 500 hours. strate grace and elegance.

Being a Royalty member with So as you can see, being part of Fathoms gives you the opportunity to Fathoms is a huge commitment. meet life-long friends, travel to many Efforts like this help our youth feel parades, ride on our award-winning comfortable with their community float, representing our town, Port while bringing awareness to the events Orchard. around them, helps to enhance their Being a court member further helps public speaking, teaches them to netthem develop confidence to network work amongst our community, and among dignitaries and business ownmost of all, being a part of Fathoms ers. But, being on the Royal Court is so helps them gain connections for life.

Please present coupon much more than that. at time of purchase.

The youth reach out to local businesses and auxiliary groups to assist

Come and Visit!

over 200 vendors

5002176

Over 200 Vendors

Free 8oz.

Espresso Limit 1 per customer per visit.

360-876-0857 • Mon-Sat 10am-7pm • 1696 S.E. Mile Hill Drive,

Just a short (8 mile) drive from the Southworth Ferry!

1696 S.E. Mile Hill Drive, Suite 110 Merlyn Lehmkuhl photo

These are the members of the 2015 Fathoms O’ Fun Royalty Court.

360-876-0857

Mon-Sat 10am-7:30pm • Sun 10am-5:30pm

Page 12

Fathoms O’ Fun 2015

FOR 80 YEARS Peninsula Credit Union has been there for our Members.

In 1935, employees at Rayonier Pulp and Paper Company gathered their money and started this credit union. It wasn’t to be a charity, it was a way that people who knew and trusted each other could pool their money and do bigger things.

Some saved and others borrowed and they grew together. From the humble beginnings of the $35 they pulled together that day to the $150 million represented today by five branches, 72 employees

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and over 18,000 members, the Peninsula Credit Union of today honors our past and looks brightly upon our future.

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