Gackle volunteers attend final Horizons celebration in Bismarck
On July 9, Horizons volunteers from Gackle joined colleagues from 20 other small communities across the state to celebrate their successful completion of the 18-month program at the end of June. The luncheon in the towns’ honor at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck was attended by the governor and other state officials. The program included remarks by guests, presentations of certificates and grant checks, and photos with the governor and NDSU coaches.
Each town had been asked to present a five-minute summary of program highlights: audio-visual screen projections, individual speeches, panel interviews, skits, tabletop displays of program photos with descriptions, etc.
Gackle opted to do a little skit involving nine of the thirteen volunteers attending. Mayor Ritchie Jacobson and Horizons Coordinator Mary Conrad introduced themselves to the audience and began to dialogue about what exactly they were supposed to be doing up there. While this was going on, the other seven individuals slipped onto the stage behind them, all carrying “props” like a rock, cucumber, community calendar, broom, welcome mat, toilet plunger, and artist’s brush and palette.
As Ritchie and Mary questioned each volunteer in turn about “what in the world they were doing” with those objects, they explained which piece of Gackle’s story each object represented: “Rock the Park” 4th of July 2007, farmers market, business directory in community calendar, clean-up months, three new welcome signs, sewer replacement project, and arts-in-the-park series at this year’s farmers markets.
The final prop was the wooden arm volunteers gave Mary at this year’s Fourth of July. After “all the arms she twisted” to meet participation thresholds and deadlines, folks thought she might not know what to do with herself when the program ended. So they gave her a painted, wooden arm so she’d still have one to twist! Based on the applause and comments afterwards, the skit was quite a “hit” and pretty much guaranteed no one would soon be forgetting the town of Gackle! 
The seven “actors” besides the mayor and coordinator were Greg Ells, Russ Pollock, Mary Jo Fries, Dean Entzminger, James Owen, Chad Williams and Sally Jeppson, with four other volunteers providing moral support: Carol Entzminger, Andrew Owen, Loren Schroeder and Tim Blackman.
Representatives of NDSU and the Northwest Area Foundation praised volunteers from all 21 communities, not only for completing the program but also for their excellence in already implementing many strategic plan goals beyond the requirements for conversation circles, leadership training and visioning activities.