About 50 people, including a dozen or more Rotarians, attended the April 12 Arbor Day tree plantings that featured Rotary’s centennial gift to the city. It was a chilly, wet morning, but the crowd was enthusiastic.
The large TDN photo captures Rotarians in action — Jim Conrod, Marc Silva, and Sandra Swogger wielding ceremonial golden shovels, with Joanna Lee, Marnee Alexander, and Sarah Koss looking on.
Prior to the shoveling, Longview Parks & Rec Director Jen Wills addressed the background of Arbor Day and Longview’s history as a Tree City USA. Club President Marc Silva explained the purpose of Rotary shade trees as a centennial gift, and Dave Minthorn presented the Rotary beneficiary certificate to Director Wills and read the partnership inscription to Parks and Rec/Urban Forestry. City councilman Christopher Ortiz praised the gift in remarks. Council members Ruth Kendall and Spencer Boudreau also attended.
The trees are quite substantial, topping out at 15 feet in height. The two plantings are set about 10 feet from the playground surface, so they’ll produce shade at leaf out by the summer. Longview Rotary will be credited on wooden posts adjacent to the trees installed before the City’s July 4 celebration.
This really cool gift garnered excellent publicity for Rotary and was well worth the $600 investment to stake Rotary’s name on the great lawn of Sacajawea Park.
