Nearly 90 years of community togetherness had its latest incarnation last Friday during Community Day in Eatonville. The 87th annual event, sponsored by Eatonville School District, featured dancing, displays, awards and activities to promote a strong relationship among schools, businesses and the general public. In the gymnasium at Eatonville High School, the festival's royal court, headed by high school students Ryan Moeller as king and Riley Jumper as queen, was formally recognized to start proceedings that included damce and musical performances by students and the announcement of this year's recipients of the Award of Distinction. The latter, presented annually to noteworthy alumni of the high school, was awarded this year to two people GÇô Denise Bennett (class of 1984), who asked not to have her accomplishments disclosed during the presentation and wasn't on hand to accept her award, and Terry Van Eaton (class of 1956), who was singled out for helping start Senior Surprise, a 24-hour series of events and celebrations for graduating seniors. "I'm truly humbled," Van Eaton told the audience. People who weren't packed into the gym were outside enjoying the warm, sunny day. Students lazed on the grass, tossed footballs around and took whacks with a sledge hammer at a car bash fund-raiser for the high school's senior class. Other student programs also were conducting fund-raisers, such as a chocolate and bake sale for the choir and sales of metal art by the Technollogy Students Association. Mingling in the relaxed atmosphere were representatives of fire departments, civic and community organizations, and businesses. The Community Day coordinators were Julie Clark, Julie Salvey and Alyssa Salvey. The art for the cover of the coronation program was by Lily Bagley, a student at Weyerhaeuser Elementary School. She was the winner of a contest for second and third-grade students to draw their impression of Community Day.
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