Fairchild airmen visit Grant County Fair
Mathew McCloskey, 18 months old, rides the merry-go-round, with mother, Danielle, standing by.
Front row, left to right, airmen and their families: Danielle, Michael and Mathew McCloskey and Sida, Sage, Juan and James Avila.Back row, donors: Larry Godden, Dennis L. Clay, Enid Clay, Garnet Wilson, Nikki Winkler, Jim Turner, Cheryl Elkins (with grandkids Kayla and Dylan), Tom and Peggy Harless (with granddaughter Morgan) and Darrin of Jackson Flight Center.
Two airmen and five dependents traveled from Fairchild to Moses Lake to attend the Grant County Fair. One family of four needed to cancel at the last minute. Our timeline of a 10 a.m. departure from Fairchild and a 12 noon arrival at the fairgrounds held true.
A total of $315 was donated by local people. The plan was to use the money to buy tickets for the airmen to enter the fair. However, Fair Manager Jerry Gingrich donated a family pass to both families.
Attending were James "Michael" McCloskey, a boom operator with the 93d ARS, and his wife, Danielle, and 18-month-old son, Mathew. Also attending were Senior Airmen Sida Avila, a member of the 92d Operation Support Squadron, and her husband, Juan, and two sons, James, 8, and Sage 6.
My concerns elevated when an 18-month-old was carried off the van, but these worries were groundless. McCloskey said Mathew stayed interested as the 4-H kids let him in the pens to pet the pigs and cows and the sheep. He also rode the merry-go-round three times.
Both parents told me Mathew didn't sleep a wink during the six hours at the fair and began crying when he found out he was leaving to go home. As soon as he was in the van, he passed out and slept all the way to Fairchild.
The Avila family enjoyed the various aspects of the fair, with Juan, James and Sage taking turns on the rock climbing wall. All enjoyed the animals. Sida said she had never seen a cow up close and had never seen a baby sheep. Spaceburgers were a hit with the entire family.
Both families thanked the people of Grant County for their generosity and for being so friendly.
Larry Godden, of Million Air Moses Lake, and I organized the trip, but it was Larry's boss, the owner of the Freeman Holdings Group, who donated the van for transportation to and from Fairchild. This trip would not be possible without the donation of funds for the van. Nathan of Pack's Delivery was the driver for this event.
The beginning amount of $315 was reduced by $140, as we gave each family member $20 to spend at the fair. This left $175, which has been reserved for next year's trip.
The subject of having just seven people make the trip was brought up by the attending airmen. Neither Larry nor I are disappointed with the turnout as sometimes it is a blessing to begin a tradition with a small number.
Next year we will begin the planning phase of this event two months earlier. Plus the positive reports from the Avila and McCloskey families will help other families understand the fun of attending the Grant County Fair. Then perhaps we will fill two 56-passenger busses for the trip.
The $140 given to the families was 44.44 percent of the total of $315, so I simply deducted 44.44 percent from each donation. So$8.89 was deducted from each of the $20 donations, leaving $11.11 in the pot for next year.
The donors consisted of Jim Turner, Darrin of Jackson Flight Center, Tom and Peggy Harless, Bill Blue, Bill Bailey, Cheryl Elkins, Jim and Joy Duzon, Enid Clay and Nikki Winkler.
A man handed me $5 as I was leaving the rodeo Saturday night saying, "This is for the troops." Please contact me with a name. Thanks to all who donated and otherwise worked to make this first airmen-to-the-fair event a success.