Friends of

CYCLE OREGON AND THE FRIENDS OF CRATER LAKE — SEPTEMBER 17, 2004
by George Buckingham

Cycle Oregon is a sponsored bicycle trip in which some 2,000 cyclists traverse some of Oregon's most beautiful and challenging roads. People ride for a week visiting the state and getting to know local people.

During the past ten or fifteen years, Cycle Oregon has visited Crater Lake National Park twice. Each visit was very successful from everyone's viewpoint. The people running Cycle Oregon know what they are doing and bend over backwards to be good guests wherever they go. Part of their strategy is to engage local groups to sponsor many of their activities and logistics. During their last visit to the park, the Friends sponsored a rest stop and for our efforts accepted a donation of $500.

Those who worked the rest stop enjoyed the experience. Cycle Oregon is easy to work with and the riders are a fun bunch of people. We did note that the riders were, for the most part, anxious to continue riding and didn't stay long and thus we couldn't share experiences with very many of them. At the lunch stop, riders stay for a much longer period of time. So, we should have opportunities to get to know them better.

This year Cycle Oregon has invited the Friends to sponsor the lunch stop on September 17. This is a much bigger commitment on the part of the Friends. Cycle Oregon requires us to provide 19 volunteers to work all day Friday, September 17. We can split this up if we choose (two or three people could share one job and thus not work the entire day). Our reward will be a donation of $2,500. Cycle Oregon provides everything we will need to sponsor the lunch stop, and will have it on site. All we have to do is have 19 friendly, hard working Friends. They even provide supervision (Some of us needing more supervision than others.)

Since this is such a large commitment and the consequences of failing to meet that commitment are so great, we want to start recruiting volunteers now. Please let me know ASAP if you would like to help. Now you are asking: Just what is he asking us to do? Here are the job descriptions:

Lunch Coordinator

1 volunteer responsible for the entire activity related to the serving of the lunch, including set up, meal distribution, entertainment and cleanup. This person will be the contact person for Cycle Oregon.

Set Up, Serve, and Tear Down

10 volunteers are needed to distribute food to the riders on day of the event. Responsibilities of these volunteers will include setting up the lunch site, moving box lunches from the refrigeration truck to the serving tables and cleaning up after the event. Volunteers will also be responsible for placing beverages in tubs and icing them down.

Counters

4 Volunteers are needed to count riders as they come through the food line, to mark off their wristbands, and to monitor the area for cleanliness.

Site Maintenance

4 volunteers are needed to set up trash boxes, maintain the site, manage trash and assist in cleaning up the lunch site.

Entertainment (optional but recommended)

Volunteers (amount will vary pending on type of entertainment) are needed to plan the entertainment and decorate the lunch site. Be creative with entertainment; highlight your community and your group.

Examples of past entertainment:

-Guitar & harmonica players, fiddlers
-Educational speakers relevant to your particular area
-Historians and history exhibits, antiques
-Square dancers, cloggers and native dancers
-High School bands, cheerleaders, choirs and theater groups
-Elementary students decorating a lunch site with pictures

Sign Detail

Prior to the event, you will need to make two signs for lunch. One indicating the non-vegetarian item and another indicating the vegetarian option.

Example signs:

-Chicken salad on a multi-grain bun with lettuce and tomato
-Veggie wrap in spinach tortilla with Italian dressing

I'll serve as Coordinator until/unless someone else wants the job (or you fire me). Let me know what job you want and most of all, recruit more volunteers. E-mail at foclnp@alwaysonnetworks.com or phone 541-783-3136. Thank you. George Buckingham.

CRATER LAKE IS SELECTED FOR THE OREGON COMMEMORATIVE QUARTER
by Greg Reddell

I'll be one of the happiest coin collectors there could be. My favorite national park gets selected for the design of the commemorative quarter program.. What a nice addition to my collection of Crater Lake memorabilia. First day of issue Crater Lake stamps, Crater Lake post office cancellations, Crater Lake post cards, Crater Lake souvenirs, Crater Lake National Park Medals, lots of Crater Lake books, and now the coins. I will be looking forward to the U.S. Mint to issue the proof set and uncirculated set.

As the 33rd state admitted to the Union, Oregon's quarter will be the 33rd issued since the Mint began issuing quarters showcasing each state in 1999. The United States Mint will release the Crater Lake Quarter around June of next year. .The chosen design is a view of Crater Lake from the south rim, including Wizard Island and conifer trees. Other quarter designs included Mt. Hood viewed from the east, a salmon jumping up a waterfall, and a prairie schooner on the Oregon Trail moving past Native American dwellings toward mountains. The Mt. Hood design was a close second in the final vote of the commission.