Bike week successful

The noon meeting of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce at Any Occasion Banquet Hall on Tuesday found board member Justin Parr of the float committee reporting that he has been working with H.P. Carstensen, manager of the Odessa Trading Company, on a sign that will grace the outside of the float trailer that was recently puchased by the Chamber, in part through a large donation from OTC. The pickup that is used to haul the trailer currently needs repairs. Parts have been ordered and will cost about $400 plus labor charges. The float itself is also a motorized vehicle chassis and needs to have its carburetor rebuilt. All repairs must be completed by May 17, in time for the Spokane Lilac Parade.

Chamber president Marcus Horak announced that the first Deutsches Fest meeting of this year will take place April 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chamber office.

There were no committee reports. Marketing committee chairperson Lise Ott asked for help with some of the associated duties of her committee, so henceforth Mo Sheldon will schedule the committee meetings and call/email the members about them, and Ott will continue to lead the meetings.

Bike Week

Marlon Schafer reported on the weekend's motorcycle-related activities. He said the larger tent used this year worked very well, and there were no problems with fighting and very few problems with overindulgence. Many favorable comments were heard regarding the Garrett Bartley band which played both Friday and Saturday nights.

Dance instructors had been engaged, Schafer said, to help the crowd get up and dancing. Not too many people took advantage of the instruction, but having them out on the dance floor did help to entice others to join them.

To help defray the cost of the band, tent rental and other expenses, the Chamber this year instituted a cover charge for Friday and Saturday that the tent was open and had music. The Chamber sold about 29 kegs worth of beer, although there were four kegs that were not completely empty. There was also very little waste because the "bottom-up" filling station supplied by the distributor was used, the same setup that has been used in the Biergarten at Deutsches Fest for the past two years.

Schafer said the Chamber may have netted about $5,000 but warned that the figures are very preliminary. Expenses included about $4,500 for the tent, heaters and generator (with tax and delivery included), $4,200 for beer, $3,500 for the band, $450 undercover crowd monitors, $250 for propane, $250 for police, $300 for the dance instructor and $500 for lights, cords and miscellaneous from Ramm Hardware. Income was about $3,200 at the door and $12,600 at the till (plus $3,300 in ATM charges).

Beer charges in the tent were raised by $1 over last year's price, and Schafer said there were a couple of complaints about it. A few others objected to the cover charge, but most folks appeared happy to have the venue available as a place to get out of the wind and dust and talk over the poker runs and other races. A few tables were set up for those who wished to eat meals purchased in the food court with their families. Children were allowed in the tent until evening when it became an adults-only venue. Schafer said the fact that families could come into the tent together to enjoy their meals and refreshments was a big draw and one of the things that made the tent a successful venture for the Chamber.

Schafer also said he printed and distributed 500 flyers at the race site describing the food court and the hospitality tent for all ages and providing the menus and hours of operation of each vendor.

The bottom-up cups reduced waiting times for beer, but the till had some trouble keeping up with the crowd. Schafer opened a second till, and that alleviated the wait for most folks. The magnets in the bottom of the cups were specially made for the Odessa Chamber and offered a dollar off the cover charge at the coming Deutsches Fest. Some folks are said to have rooted through garbage cans to find additional magnets. On the downside, however, Schafer told Chamber members that an entire case of unused cups was stolen as he was loading up equipment at the end of the event. Next time, he said, he won't be so trusting.

Spring Fling

Laura Estes reported that 140 entries have already come in for the 2014 Spring Fling quilt show put on by the Odessa Quilt Club. She said she has been working together with people in Harrington and Ellensburg, both of which have quilt shows the same weekend as Odessa, to promote April 25 and 26 as a great weekend to visit three eastern Washington quilt shows. As an added attraction, Christ Lutheran Church in Odessa will also have its "World Relief" quilts arranged on its pews for viewing on Friday and Saturday.

Estes asked for volunteers from the Chamber to help with setup and teardown on Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon, respectively. She added that Sherie Heimbigner will be contacting downtown businesses regarding participation in the "Quilt Walk" during the next two weeks.

Harrington will also have additional activities in addition to its quilt show, and Odessa will have the usual yard sales all over town, plus a special yard sale to benefit efforts to refurbish the Old Town Hall. The yard sale will run Friday and Saturday only. The event will be held in the Old Town Hall and will include items donated by people throughout the community. The Friends of the Library will also hold a used-book sale in conjunction with the benefit yard sale.