Mollyockett Weekend thanks

Wow – MollyOckett Days weekend was a busy one here in the Bethel area! Many thanks to the staff at Sunday River Resort for a successful Tough Mountain Challenge ‒ that brought thousands of competitors, families and friends to the area. Two days of MollyOckett Days events were successful in attracting visitors to the area, as well as providing the historic reunion event that present, and past residents of the area value. New facets of the event – the expansion on to Main Street, the addition of Native American cultural events, and the NH Zoological Park Wildlife Encounter Event seemed to be well-received by just about everyone. We realize that the village traffic flow was interrupted for the majority of the day and that some people were inconvenienced by that. We appreciate their understanding and patience! The handicapped and elderly parking proximal to the Common will need to be addressed for future years’ events as well.

An event of this magnitude takes a tremendous commitment of time and resources of many people and businesses – and the Bethel Area Chamber would like to thank them for their part in making MollyOckett Days possible.

The event Presenting Sponsor was Northeast Bank – and we would like to thank the management, as well as the staff of the local branch – for their enthusiasm and support. They raised funds once again for the Mahoosuc Kids Association, which further highlights their commitment to our community. Additional sponsors to thank are: Town of Bethel, Pepsi Beverages Company, Stephens Memorial Hospital, TransCanada, CB Kenworth, SkiEsta, Dead River Company, Down East Enterprises, Mahoosuc Realty, Bethel Citizen, Maine Energy Systems, Bethel Rotary Club, Hanley & Associates, Mt. Mann Jewelers, Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, WOXO – Gleason Media Services, Bennett Automotive, All Doyles Cleaning Services, and River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition. The fireworks that were enjoyed Saturday evening were made possible through the generosity of: DuraLife Decking, Atlas Pyrovision Productions, Leslie B. Otten, the towns of Newry, Greenwood and Woodstock, 22 Broad Street at Gideon Hastings House, Pooh Corner Farm & Greenhouses, River View Resort, Charles St. Germain, Four Seasons Realty & Rentals, Good Food Store, Maine Street Realty & Rentals, Mountain Greenery & Garden Shop, Mountain View Eye Care, Smokin’ Good BBQ, Pat’s Pizza of Bethel, Norseman Inn & Motel, Edward Jones and Sunday River Gems. MollyOckett Day Race prize sponsors were: Mt. Abram Resort, True North Adventureware, Rooster’s Roadhouse, Good Food Store, S.S. Milton, Mill Hill Inn, The Bethel Citizen, the BIG Adventure Center, Mallart Mart and Pat’s Pizza. Thanks to Pine Tree Waste & Casella Recycling for providing the dumpsters and to Gould Academy for providing the tables and chairs. Additional thanks to the Town of Bethel for the loan of barricades and cones ‒ and or the mowing for needed parking.

Months of planning by our MollyOckett Days Task Force were instrumental in the event’s success. Huge thanks are extended to Matty Leach, our parade coordinator and planning committee chairman! The Main Street closure was successful due to the efforts of committee members Sara Hemeon and Maggie Kroenke. Thanks also to Steve Etheridge, Carol Emery & Conni St. Pierre for their planning input. Tremendous thanks to Chad McGrew for the loan of the sound system for the day and being our Emcee! Our volunteer “force” for both days was an immense help and we would like to thank them publicly! Margaret Almeida, Nancy Babcock, Fred Bailey, Bruce Barrett, Dwayne Bennett, Eileen & Mike Broderick, Travis Brooks, AJ Cary, Read Dickinson, Hattie & Hope Doyle, Dave Freiday, Jonathan, Kate, Rachael & Rose Goldberg, Bryana, James & Kenton Graley, Angie Harvey, Sara Hemeon, Susan Herlihy, Laurie Herron, Scott Hynek, Brad Jerome, Rosemary Laban, Anne Marie Maher, Mark Mallory, Amanda Moran, Fred Nolte, Gabe & Jessie Perkins, Jim Reuter, Joyce Roma, Michelle Ruscito, Mary Scanlon, Melissa Sheridan, Peter & Sarah Southam, Gabi & Kelly Stone, Nancy Stowell-White, Bill Strauss, Lloyd Sweetser, Paula Wheeler & Wheeler, and Doug Zinchuk.

Congratulations to Kallie Brown, the 2012 Miss MollyOckett; to the parade winners, first place: Bailey’s & Friends, second place: Funky Red Barn and honorable mention, The Eddy School. Thanks to everyone who built floats and participated in this very popular MollyOckett Day tradition. The winners of the frog jumping contest and the MollyOckett Day Road Races will be mentioned in other places in this week’s edition of the newspaper.

The Bethel Area Chamber is always interested in constructive feedback for future events! Thanks again to everyone who, in any way, helped to make the weekend’s events possible.

Robin Zinchuk, Executive Director