news1@ulyssesnews.com
The 61st Grant County Home Products Dinner was a night full of laughs, honors and good food during which the newest Citizen of the Year was recognized for her years of dedicated service to the county. With a theme of “Taste the Traditions,” Grant County Chamber of Commerce Chair Ivy Rodenberg said the community should be proud.
“For all those who have helped with this events, and all residents of Grant County, you should be proud of your community harvest,” Rodenberg said.
Father Eric Gyamfi of the Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church gave the invocation, Boy Scout Troop 186 presented the colors, and the Ulysses High School Concert Choir sang the National Anthem.
Rodenberg also said more than 700 volunteers and 100 organizations and businesses helped with the dinner this year.
Volunteers prepared a dinner of barbecue beef, sweet corn, scalloped potatoes, pinto beans, candied squash, wheat rolls, strawberry jam, watermelon milo donuts, ice cream, and coffee/tea, which was served by 4-H members and other students from Kepley Middle School and Ulysses High School.
Committee co-chairs Dustin Walker, Daena Gallegos spoke prior to the naming of the Citizen of the Year ad thanked the committee, volunteers and the community.
“It’s been a privilege to serve on the Home Products Dinner Committee,” Gallegos said. “The first year you serve is just a bit nerve-wracking as you go through the motions and ask yourself, ‘What did I just step into?’
“But you quickly become part of the crew making memories and lasting friendships. By the end of the fourth year, you realize that months of planning and a few days of long, physical hard work, is all worth it.”
Walker challenged the community to make the Home Products Dinner a tradition.
“All those new members, or new to making this a tradition, make this something that you include your family and your kids,” Walker said, adding that his wife and daughter have been involved since moving to Ulysses in 2018. “This has become a tradition to us. I want to challenge you to make this a tradition.”
The Home Products Dinner committee donated $5,000 to the Grant County Scholarship fund each of the last several years, and more than $100,000 has been given over the years to local high school students to further their education.
Esther Walker was recognized as 2024 Citizen of the year. Walker moved to Ulysses in 1964 and married her husband Marshall in 1966; Marshall was recognized as 1973 Citizen of the year - the second to be named - and the Walker Auditorium at the Grant County Civic Center is named in his honor.
She was a Kindergarten teacher in Ulysses for 30 years and continued to substitute after retiring in 1998.
“Every Halloween, her house was the most popular for current and former students to visit, and every May she was invited to numerous graduation celebrations,” Rodenberg added. “From the time she chose to make Ulysses her home, she has been an integral part of the community.”
Walker said she will never forget something her husband once said, that Grant County was the best place to live and has the most wonderful people imaginable.
“I hope that the Lord will give me many more years and that I can still be of service,” Walker said. “He allows and enables me to do what I do. It’s not me, it’s the Lord.”
See a special in-depth feature on Mrs. Walker on the front page of today's paper.
•Special guests included Kansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam; 93rd District Representative Brian Bergkamp; 124th District Representative Marty Long; 110th District Representative Ken Rahjes; Martha Ruiz-Mendoza, Director of the office of the office of Congressman Tracey Mann; Josie Shearer, District Representative of the office of Congressman Tracey Mann; Rebecca Swender, District Director of the office of Senator Roger Marshall; District 122 Representative Dr. Bill Clifford; Hunter Carson, District Representative for Senator Jerry Moran, as well as representatives from the Kansas Commerce Department. Area Chambers of Commerce Ambassadors were in attendance, as well as local city councils, county commissions, Economic Development representatives, tourism representatives, mayors, and judges. Senior Citizens groups from surrounding communities were also recognized.
Home Products Dinner committee members include Dustin Walker, Daena Gallegos, Casey Caldwell, Kristi Breeze, Sean, McKown, Marcia Swann, Andy McMillan, and Alba Marina Alvarado. Incoming committee members for the 2025 Home Products Dinner are Michael Broyer and Kylie Long. Each committee member makes a 4-year commitment when they agree to serve.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here