Nearly 700 Pathfinders, staff, and parents came together representing 36 different Pathfinder clubs from across the conference for this year’s Pathfinder Fair at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany, Oregon. The annual end-of-year celebration, held May 19, wrapped up another year of exciting programming and activities for Oregon Conference Pathfinders.
The opening ceremony included a message from Victoria Steele, a Whipple Creek Pathfinder, calling upon this year’s theme of Be Strong & Courageous. Kate McWilliam from the Cedar CreekPathfinder Club was invested as a Master TLT after completion of her four-year leadership training program, and Pathfinders who were baptized during the past year were encouraged, challenged, and prayed over by Pastor Jason Calvert, when they received their commemorative baptismal pins.
As always, the afternoon was filled with many opportunities to participate in a plethora of honors, games, challenges, marching competitions, and activities that were offered by most of the participating clubs. The environment provided many opportunities for laughter, new friendships, and connecting with old friends for both Pathfinders and adult mentors alike.
The day’s closing ceremony was called to order by an impressive drum corps presentation by the Vancouver Spanish club followed by a two-finalist competition between the East Salem and Fort Vancouver clubs, who were challenged to determine who could set up a four-person tent the fastest. After many cheers and applause, both clubs were able to complete the task in just over two minutes with East Salem finishing one second faster. Such a close contest!
The final moments of the day included presentation of scholarships by Milo Adventist Academy and Big Lake Youth Camp, both ministries have partnered with and supported Pathfinders very intentionally over the years.
The day concluded with the presentation of certificates to the clubs and with the recognition of our truly amazing Pathfinder directors, who were gifted a small token of appreciation for the amazing service this past year. The program closed with an impressive retrieving of the colors by the Pleasant Valley color guard.
Over the coming weeks, these clubs will be making final preparations and raising their final funds for the trip to Gillette, Wyoming for the Believe the Promise International Camporee. Please keep each of our Pathfinders and their leaders in your prayers as they prepare for their journeys this summer.
