Sean C. Morgan
Sue Olson has stepped down as the unofficial chairwoman of the Parade Committee, which organizes the Sportsman’s Holiday and Christmas parades.
Her daughter, Debbie Walvatne, has stepped up to fill the role after Olson announced her resignation.
“Three and a half years ago, along with five other volunteers, I stepped forward to see that the Christmas Parade in Sweet Home continued,” Olson said. “In the past, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, I had organized several of our other parades.”
That year, the Chamber of Commerce was prepared to cancel the Christmas Parade.
“The committee that formed that year has done a good job in continuing to present parades to Sweet Home for Sportsman’s Holiday and Christmas,” Olson said. “The committee has changed volunteers over this time but has always consisted of people who care about our community and love parades.”
Approaching the time to organize the 2014 Sportman’s Holiday Parade, Olson has found it difficult to get enough time from committee members and herself to commit to the event, she said. “Members’ time is taken with elder care, continuing education and new work commitments and other responsibilities,” Olson said. “Of the six current members, only three are able to volunteer their time to the parade organizational activities.”
Olson said she has found interest in another community project. She is getting involved in the effort to repair and refurbish the high school auditorium and stage, and she stays busy as president of the Singing Christmas Tree Board of Directors.
After Olson’s announcement, her daughter decided to step up and take on that role. Walvatne has been Olson’s “right-hand man” on the committee since 2009 and in community projects since she was 19.
The committee needs new members, Olson said, and Olson is bringing two new ones with her.
“I’ve got the approval of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors,” said Walvatne, who will attend chamber board meetings regularly to provide reports on the parades.
Her husband, Cody Walvatne, is taking over her position on the committee, she said.
“I don’t want to see this go away,” Debbie Walvatne said. “I want to see them bigger and better like they used to be.”
She wants to emphasize growth in the parade, she said, and she is already reaching out to sports teams and others to promote involvement.
She was in it as a Girl Scout, and she was in the Centennial Parade, Walvatne said.
“It’s tradition, and I like tradition.”
For more information or to get involved, contact Walvatne at (541) 570-2218.