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July 18, 2013
PARTY IN THE PARK
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425434.071813 PIP
Tualatin Hills Park
and Recreation
District’s
maintenance crew
is thankful for the
nearly 200
volunteers who
help streamline an
array of activities
at the Party in the
Park. At right is
crew leader Chris
Palmer, Sarah
Veith, Sam Haag
and Dan Dziekan.
TIMES FILE PHOTO:
NANCY TOWNSLEY
By SHANNON O. WELLS
Beaverton Valley Times
W
hen Party in the Park is going
full steam on Saturday after-
noon, the idea is to make the
festivities appear to be unfold-
ing seamlessly, without any detectable toil or
trouble.
If that’s the impression participants get,
they have dedicated community volunteers to
thank.
Deb Fife, coordinator of volunteer services
with Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Dis-
trict, says the more than 180 volunteers on site
at the Howard M. Terpenning Recreation Com-
plex during the event are the heart and soul of
the eighth annual Party in the Park.
“We have 7,500 people coming on site for an
interactive event. Volunteers are critical to our
success in making this free day of activities
available,” she says. “We have a tremendous
volunteer effort in place.”
Volunteer coordination for the annual
event begins around January, with Fife work-
ing with Allen Oyler of the Latter-day Saints
Church of Beaverton. The park district has
partnered with the church since the event got
going in 2006.
“The LDS Church is super organized and
very community-oriented,” she says. “They’re
always looking for those opportunities, with
great ways to help people get more involved
with communities. It’s a great project, so we
decided to team up.”
Volunteers are provided with a number of
positions to choose from that best serve
their interests, whether that involves an ath-
letic, adventure or skill event, helping with
the artistic offerings or providing general
assistance to visitors and participants
throughout the day.
“Each ward is given a number of positions
to sign up for,” Fife says. “We’ve made sure
to give them the option to try anything of in-
terest to them and maybe want to share
with others. If it’s a skill, such as (rock wall)
climbing or something creative, they’ll help
someone else learn about it.”
Without the LDS Church and its volunteer
coordination, the party would be quite
different.
“We could do a Party in the Park, but we
couldn’t offer this level of interactive activi-
ties without this level of support,” Fife says.
“They bring another element to the project.
It’s like having an external arm from the com-
munity. They help us at every level.”
Bob Wayt, the park district’s communica-
tions director, credits the LDS Church and its
volunteer contributions as providing the
heart and soul of the event.
“This is such a large event with so much
going on in such a large space,” he says. “It
really takes an army of people to make it hap-
pen in the way we want it to happen. It’s a
major commitment to the community that
the LDS Church provides. We’re quite grate-
ful for that.
“They definitely don’t get the recognition
they deserve,” Wayt adds. “We couldn’t do
the Party in the Park without them.”
Bevy of volunteers
keep events moving
■
LDS Church provides healthy chunk
of the more than 180 volunteers needed