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1049 State Ave. * Marysville, Washington 98270 * (360) 363-8000 * web: marysvillewa.gov Office of the Mayor News Release Contact: Doug Buell, Community Information Officer Office: (360) 363-8086 Cell: (425) 754-3641 Email: [EMAIL REDACTED] Perennial Strawberry Festival volunteer duo earns Volunteer of the Month honors MARYSVILLE – Mayor Jon Nehring is proud to honor Jodi Hiatt and Carol Kapua as Volunteers of the Month for their hard work and dedication with the community’s crown jewel of events, the Marysville Strawberry Festival. “By far and away, Carol and Jodi’s greatest legacy to our community is their longtime involvement and leadership with the Strawberry Festival,” said the Mayor at a recent City Council meeting where the two were honored. “It is with great thanks to people like Carol, Jodi, the Maryfest Board and volunteers for all the behind-the-scenes work and dedication that goes into making the Strawberry Festival a success each year.” The Festival draws more than 100,000 people to Marysville the third week of June for going on 82 years.” Hiatt (pictured center) and Kapua are also involved in various other forms of community volunteering aside from their work with the festival. Jodi Hiatt, who co-owns Marysville Everett Ceramic Tile with husband John, has always reached out to help her community, says Beckye Randall, who nominated her. Currently, Hiatt also serves on the board of the Marysville Arts Coalition with Randall as a strong advocate for creating an arts culture in Marysville. She is also active with Pennies for Puppies and Ponies. Hiatt’s volunteer work for the Strawberry Festival is expansive. She has served as President for the Strawberry Festival for multiple years. Some of the committees for the festival she has served on include the Market, Car Show Liaison and Pageant Director. Carol Kapua, though retired, still works by helping out her community in more ways than one. Like her fellow Volunteer of the Month award winner, Kapua has also been a multi-year Past President for the Strawberry Festival. ---PAGE BREAK--- 1049 State Ave. * Marysville, Washington 98270 * (360) 363-8000 * web: marysvillewa.gov She serves on the Grand Parade Committee, the Fireworks Committee, the Carnival Liaison, School District Liaison, the Sponsorship and Donation Committee, and the Royalty Committee. The amount of time and effort Kapua puts into the Strawberry Festival is comparable to that of a full-time job. Kapua also volunteers at the Tulalip Senior Center, where she helps the seniors with arts and crafts projects once a week. She is also an advocate for a special needs woman. Angie Miller, current Co-Vice President and a Past President who nominated Carol, says of her: “She is always one of the first people to offer her help when needed. I feel very honored to know her and call her a friend.” Nehring said that many people may not realize that there is an entirely different side of the festival that residents don’t see that make their involvement a year-round commitment. The Strawberry Festival is part of the Northwest Festival Hosting Association, an organization made up of festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest. The festivals work together and commit to supporting each other’s events by sending a delegation to each member festival. That is especially helpful for making sure that parades have plenty of colorful floats from one city to the next, Nehring said, but it also means lots of travel and hosting throughout the year. Typically, the Strawberry Festival float and crew, along with the festival royalty, attend more than 2 dozen parades during the summer through Washington, Oregon and across the border. “in that respect, Carol and Jodi are frontline ambassadors of Marysville, so they know how important it is to leave a good and lasting impression with other festival communities,” said the Mayor. “Marysville has an outstanding reputation among festival communities, and it’s because of hard-working volunteers like Carol and Jodi.” Nehring said Hiatt and Kapua are incredible examples for people to look up to, and are loved by their friends and family for their kindness and spirit. It is for their hard work and community involvement that they have been recognized as Volunteers of the Month for March.