2017 Grygla Centennial Update

When speaking to members of the 2017 Grygla Centennial Committee, the vibe isn’t as positive as it should be. But who can blame them? This is a once in a lifetime celebration that the past and present residents of Grygla have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even though a committee was established last summer, a lack of help has left these volunteers feeling discouraged. 

Attempts have been made to call out for volunteers, but these attempts have been unsuccessful. “No one has contacted me about wanting to join or be on any committee,” stated Gretchen Smeby, Secretary of the committee. Shonda Jelle, who also serves on the committee, agrees. “This is a huge event for our amazing community and it is going to require a lot of planning,” she said. “Only a few of us have been meeting, but it’s mainly to discuss upcoming fundraisers. At this point, we haven’t discussed what will actually be going on that weekend. We need more people to come and help.”

The goal of any successful event is to have a lot of people each doing a little vs. a tiny amount of people each doing a lot. This is a once in a lifetime celebration; let’s ask ourselves what we can do to help. 

Next meeting date

The Centennial Committee has scheduled another meeting for Tuesday, March 22nd, at 7pm at the Grygla Community Center. Volunteers are not just encouraged, but urged, to attend this meeting. 

Smeby, Secretary, offered, “I think we need younger members of the community to step up. I also think we need older residents, too; they remember the Diamond Jubilee and can let us know what didn’t work so well and what did.”

Jelle added, “Community events take time and involvement from everyone. Younger people that like to go to these events are encouraged to get involved and bring some fresh ideas!”

Centennial celebration plans

No plans have been set in stone yet for the Centennial celebration. The dates of the event will be August 25-27, 2017, and will be held in conjunction with the Grygla Fall Festival. Most of the centennial activities will be included in those celebrations. 

The Centennial Committee has discussed a few things and has some excellent ideas when looking forward, but it’s very hard for such a small group to pull off such a big event. Your ideas and volunteer efforts are most needed.

Money raised thus far

The committee is well underway in their fundraising efforts, which have been taking place throughout the fall and winter. Money raised thus far, along with costs, is included for your reference and are courtesy of Bob Thompson, Treasurer of Grygla Centennial Committee.

City of Grygla Fund Transfer $309.85; Grygla School Fun Run Deposit $940.00; Grygla/Gatzke Lion’s Donation from Gun Raffle $5,000.00; All-City Basketball Game/Auction $3735.00 minus $939.00 in costs, which equals $2796.00; Bingo/Chili Feed $2732.00 minus $1029 in costs, which equals $1703.00; Pub Art Fundraiser $2000.00 minus $1225 in costs, which equals $775.00.

These numbers don’t include anything with the Centennial Gun sales, nor do they include the cash raffle, which will be about $7000.00, yet to come from the Lion’s Club.

Sub-Committees

So far, a few sub-committees have been established, however, because each one only has one to two people serving, more volunteers are needed to ensure successful planning for this big celebration. Sub-committees include: Beautification, History Book, Entertainment, All-School Reunion, Fundraising and Kids Entertainment/Daytime Events.

If you have any ideas for a new committee that should be established, or any ideas to contribute to existing committees, please consider donating your time and efforts. Contacts for each committee include Joni Anderson (Beautification and All-School Reunion), Joy Nordby and Sheldon Peterson (History Book), Gavin Nordby (Entertainment), Shonda Jelle and Gretchen Smeby (Fundraising), Lindsay Oslund (Kids Entertainment/Daytime Events). 

The committee hopes to establish more sub-committees, which would include Memorabilia and Merchandise, to name a few.

Gavin Nordby is the Chair of the Committee; Gretchen Smeby serves as Secretary and Bob Thompson serves as Treasurer.

Upcoming fundraising efforts

There will be a youth art class coming up taught by Betsy Saurdiff. Classes will be held at the Grygla School Commons. Grades K-2 will paint on March 29th from 6-7:30pm. Grades 3-6 will paint on March 30th from 6-7:30. Each child attending the class will need to be accompanied by an adult. The cost for the class is $30 for each child/adult pair. Contact Shonda Jelle at 218-689-7379 to RSVP.