The 2016 Senior Citizens of the Year are Carl and Marlys Johnson. They appeared to have a great time in the Fisherman’s Picnic parade, greeting the many friends they have made as community volunteers since 1997. See more Fisherman’s Picnic fun on pages B6-B7.
Fisherman’s Picnic 2016 will almost certainly go down in the record books as one that had the best weather. There wasn’t a drop of precipitation and temperatures hovered in the upper 70s throughout the weekend. Instead of gathering under the big blue tent in Harbor Park for protection from rain, this year it was the coveted spot to get some shade. By all accounts, Fisherman’s Picnic was a huge success.
Grand Marais Lions gather grand prizes
The official end of the Fisherman’s Picnic is the grand prize drawing on Sunday afternoon. According to one Lion, approximately 6,000 tickets were sold, so the lucky winner was very lucky indeed. The winner of the grand prize of $10,000 was the very lucky April Studer of Monticello, Minnesota.
After her name was drawn, tickets belonging to two Cook County folks were drawn. Karen Robert won $1,000 and Charlie Johnson won $500.
The Grand Marais Lions were not done and Lion Pete Kavanaugh called out names of ticket holders that won everything from free pizzas and tacos to earrings, T-shirts, CDs, an amazing variety of gift certificates for lodging, dining and services and more. Over 100 great prizes were distributed.
It got hot along the route during the Fisherman’s Picnic parade on Sunday, August 7. The crowd—especially this young man—appreciated getting sprayed by the Grand Marais Fire Department. See more Fisherman’s Picnic fun Hamiltonon pages B6-B7. Marais
Great citizens honored
A Fisherman’s Picnic tradition since 1971 is the Citizen of the Year and Senior Citizen of the Year awards. This year the Citizen of the Year award went to Rita Plourde, the executive director of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic since 1981.
The nomination letter for Plourde speaks of her work at our community clinic, noting that under her leadership a talented team of doctors, nurses and professionals have stayed here, to live in and serve this community.
Kudos also went to Plourde for her efforts to secure funding that allows Sawtooth Mountain Clinic to be open to all residents, regardless of their ability to pay for services.
It was noted that Plourde collaborates with other organizations outside her routine responsibilities, helping with programs such as the school-based “Hot Potatoes” program, serving on the Cook County Higher Education board of directors and at North House Folk School. As a parent, along with her husband, Jim, Plourde was involved with many volunteer activities such as cross country skiing, running, hockey, soccer and swimming.
The nomination letter ended by saying, “Because of what Rita has created and maintained for almost 40 years, we can raise babies here, we can work hard and play hard and then, we can grow old here. Cook County is a community that can provide for all of us—this happens because of people like Rita who simply believe that this is what communities do and then she does the work, day-by-day, that so many of us avoid. Without recognition, she has been sustaining us for a very long time.”
Unfortunately, Plourde was unavailable to attend the presentation of the Citizen of the Year award and to ride in a decorated vehicle in the Fisherman’s Picnic parade. However, her friends at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic who included her likeness on their parade float in her absence would likely agree with the person who nominated her, “It’s time to say thank you!”
The 2016 Senior Citizens of the Year are Carl and Marlys Johnson who were in attendance at the parade, having a great time greeting the many friends they have made over the years in the volunteer work they have done in the community since 1997.
Carl shares his passion for tennis by teaching others to play. He and Marlys both were involved in the establishment of the community tennis court, with Marlys donating all the time she spends at the First & Second Thrift Store to the tennis program.
She has spent countless hours there as a volunteer, sorting, marking and making sure racks are filled, as well as recruiting others. The nomination letter by 2007 Senior Citizen of the Year Lois Johnson states, “Frankly, without her dedication, the store would not be as successful.”
Johnson added that she didn’t have time to pass around a petition, but closed by saying, “Just ask the tennis people and all the thrift store people and they will sing their praises. Besides all of this, they are kind, fun and a joy to be around.”
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