WALLA WALLA, Wash.- Before everything kicks off on August 30, the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days wanted to celebrate the people that have built the fair into what it is today.
In most years, the honors stop with the Rodeo Legends Hall of Fame, including Troy Frazier and Greta B. Hassler this year.
For the first time ever, the Fair’s Board of Directors chose to expand the enshrinement to those that weren’t involved in the rodeo.
“This last year we added Fair Legends to the Hall of Fame,” said Fair Board Treasurer Shane Laib. “We felt it was time to start honoring those people as well.
“As we all get older, we’re starting to lose those valuable members of our fair family, so we felt it was time to start honoring them.”
The Fair Legends are volunteers or employees that devoted their time to the Fair and Frontier Days over multiple years. The first inductee-Sheryl Cox- made history as the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors, before eventually working as Fair President.
For Laib, who had the honor of inducting Cox, her inclusion was a full circle moment for him. As a 13-year-old, Laib’s educational display was halted by the rain, leaving him unable to present.
It was Cox who went out of her way to honor his work.
“After the fair, she sent me a really nice thank you letter with a little monetary contribution that just spoke volumes to me and made me want to be a director when I grew up,” said Laib. “I’m just continuing on that legacy of giving back to our kids and our community.”
Joining Cox in the Fair Legends wing of the Hall of Fame is Terry Atchison, who’s work over six decades has earned him a room of supplies the current Board of Directors refers to as “Terry’s Room.”
Laib commented that they are working to get a plaque for the room to celebrate Atchison.
