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Huge crowds enjoy AFAD
This year's Air Force Appreciation Day celebration is being is being called the biggest and best yet with participation at nearly every level exceeding all expectations.
The 43rd Annual AFAD activities traditionally begin with the community coming together for a good old-fashioned corn shucking party. The volunteers made quick work of removing the husks from 5,000 ears of corn. Then with the last ear shucked, the volunteers took the time to pick up all of the husks and sweep the concrete clean. From start to finish, the entire process took less than 20 minutes.
By 6:30 p.m. nearly 200 participants had gathered at the starting lines for the annual AFAD Fun Run/Walk, making this year's competition the largest ever. Just a half hour later the first runners and walkers were returning to the park as the Commander's Social was getting underway. The celebration continued with an awards ceremony with plaques given to the first place overall winners and gold, silver and bronze medals going to the top three racers in each division.
On Saturday morning while the traditional AFAD Boosters' Breakfast was being served, Carl Miller Park became a beehive of activity as vendors prepared their booths for the day's festivities.
By 9 a.m., parking places were already at a premium throughout the downtown area as spectators staked out the "perfect spot" to watch the state's largest parade.
A fly-over traditionally marks the start of the parade, but this year spectators were in for an extra treat. The traditonal pair of A-10s out of Gowen Field were followed by two local pilots, Kevin Cruson in an RV-8, and Tim Healy flying a Skybolt, giving folks a taste of what they may expect during next week's Gunfighter Skies 2003.
Grand Marshal Perce Hall led the parade of 138 entries with 2,400 participants from his place of honor in a golf cart. Hall, who may be the state's oldest practicing attorney, helped in the construction of the city's golf course.
It was nearly two hours after its beginning when the final parade entry passed the reviewing stand and the spectators flowed into the park. Vendor booths offering everything from soup to nuts filled Carl Miller Park as well as the adjacent school grounds.
Raffle ticket sales were brisk as people hoped for a chance to win one of the top prizes offered by the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce. By 2:15 p.m., the 4,500 tickets were sold out, but still more people wanted an opportunity to have their name entered into the drawing. Organizers quickly improvised to provide more raffle tickets and sold an additional $500 worth before time for the drawing.
At the other end of the park, the food servers filled almost 5,000 plates with free barbecue meals. The serving lines stretching through the park moved quickly as volunteers piled the plates with corn on the cob, potato chips and barbecue beef sandwiches.
An estimated 10,000 people visited the park during the AFAD activities, making this year's celebration one of the biggest to date.