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Club hitches volunteer muscle to yard sale
4/27/2011 10:21:33 AM
Splash file photo
To handle the influx of visitors looking for a bargain, LLPD officers plan to initiate a traffic control plan to keep pedestrians safe and alleviate traffic congestion.
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By Kelly Moore
Splash Staff Writer
The Liberty Lake Community Yard Sales event features hundreds of homes and brings in scores of visitors, but has notoriously struggled for volunteers to fill key leadership positions in recent years.
This year, the Kiwanis Club of Liberty Lake stepped in to coordinate the 18th annual event scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 11. The local service organization voted to take it on in early April with intentions to secure the event's future for years to come.
"We'll probably continue running it year after year just because we have people invested in our community, and that's how we operate," said Liberty Lake Kiwanis President-Elect Scott Draper, who is leading the yard sale effort for the club.
In addition to coordinating numerous yard sales throughout the city, Liberty Lake Kiwanis plans to operate an information center and lost and found at Pavillion Park, where they will sell pizza and soft drinks. The club is also seeking food vendors for Pavillion Park (see breakout box).
Portable bathrooms will be placed throughout the community for the convenience of shoppers. Yard sale signs will also be posted throughout the community with the help of volunteers.
"It's been a great event since 1994," Draper said. "It brings a lot of people to the community as well as dollars to the people and businesses." Advertisement
In fact, the influx of shoppers is enough for the Liberty Lake Police Department to develop a plan of action to alleviate traffic congestion and keep pedestrians safe. LLPD Chief Brian Asmus said the traffic control plan usually regulates parking along some of the busier streets, such as Settler and Maxwell.
In addition, he said officers would be out on bike patrol on the day of the event, and a temporary "headquarters" for police and fire department personnel will be set up at Pavillion Park. An emergency incident action plan will also be devised with organizers ahead of time.
Draper said the event is already "pretty large" as it is, so he doesn't know if Kiwanis will try to expand operations. He does expect that as the group gets a better handle on logistics with this year's event, the organization, offerings and planning for future years will dial in.
Mayor Wendy Van Orman said local hoteliers would track incoming visitors for the event for the first time this year. She also noted that in talks with local business owners, "it surpasses all other days when it comes to sales."
Food vendors sought for Pavillion Park
The Kiwanis Club of Liberty Lake is seeking Pavillion Park food vendors for the 18th annual Liberty Lake Community Yard Sales.
All vendors must be properly certified to handle and sell food to the public and must register with the Kiwanis Club to participate in the event. The registration cost is $50 for each 10 foot by 10 foot block of space required.
To register or with questions, contact Kiwanis member Pat Dockrey at 926-3198.
Only food vendors are sought for the 2011 event, Dockrey said. |
"It's an impact that's truly felt," Van Orman said. "I think it's a Liberty Lake tradition, and it needs to continue."
Last year, the event was declared canceled by longtime coordinator Ann Weiler. She said the volunteer count was down to three when she called off the event. Alpine Shores resident Dave Graham stepped in to help orchestrate a pared-down version of the event, an effort Weiler supported.
Draper said volunteers interested in contributing to the event may contact him at scott.draper@edwardjones.com.
The club is working with The Splash, an underwriting sponsor for this year's event, to manage the registration process. Local families wanting to get in on the action can register their yard sales online at www.libertylakesplash.com/yardsales or by visiting The Splash office between 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at 2310 N. Molter Road, Suite 305. A mail-in option is also available, and forms will be available at various locations around town and printed in The Splash leading up to the event.
The Splash will publish an official guide for the event, which will include all registered yard sale listings and corresponding maps, Publisher Josh Johnson said. About 9,000 copies will be distributed - 6,000 through The Splash's normal distribution and the remaining total at sites throughout the region and on the day of the event.
"I am so pleased to see the Kiwanis Club take on the role of organizing the yard sale," Johnson said. "The people who have made the yard sale happen over the past 17 years are truly a ‘Who's Who' of Liberty Lake volunteerism, so it's certainly appropriate to see the Kiwanians taking the reins of this event."
In order to be included in the guide, registration must be received by Friday, June 3. The fee is $10 online or $15 in person or by mail. The registration fees pay for the expenses of the sale, such as advertising and portable restrooms, and any leftover revenue will go to the Kiwanis Club.
Registration includes a spot on the map and a brief description of the sale. Participants who register online or at The Splash office can choose add-ons for their listings such as bolding and highlighting features similar to The Splash's classified system. They can also pay for additional words if they want to exceed the included 20-word listing length. All registration fees, including add-ons, will go to the Kiwanis Club to support the event and the work of the club.
Splash file photo
Liberty Lake Community Yard Sales founders Betty Button (left) and Lorraine Halverson pose outside one of the neighborhoods where it all started. Liberty Lake Estates partnered with Alpine Shores in 1994 for the first year of coordinated sales.
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Sale 18 years in the making
By Kelly Moore
Splash Staff Writer
The Liberty Lake Community Yard Sales started in 1994 when Lorraine Halverson from Alpine Shores and Betty Button from Liberty Lake Estates joined forces to combine two neighborhood-wide sales.
Halverson ran the event for many years. Other people who chaired the event include Leslie Norman and Shelli Dickinson, according to a Splash archives search. Longtime coordinator Ann Weiler worked on the event committee nine years, including as the event chair in 2008 and 2009.
"When I started, there was no one in my neighborhood that was involved," Weiler said. "We had volunteers in the early years that walked around every neighborhood and recruited sign-ups."
In fact, the event evolved over the years, drawing shoppers from all over the Inland Northwest. The first event included about 30 homes, and recent years have seen more than 250 registered yard sales.
"It's grown exponentially," Weiler said. "Even though volunteering has dwindled, it's still a huge event."
An annual map of registered homes was soon printed to aid shoppers. In 2006, a website was created with a printable form to help register participants as well as provide information along with the map. The Artisans Fair was started that same year with vendors set up in Pavillion Park.
This year, the Liberty Lake Kiwanis will follow the tradition of holding the event on the second Saturday in June and welcoming thousands of bargain-hunters to the community. June 11 will mark the 18th annual yard sale event.
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