Union-Bulletin

Despite running out of chicken toward the end of its annual barbecue fundraiser at the Muddy Frogwater Festival & Corn Roast, Milton-Freewater Rotary Club brought in about $2,200 from the feed to augment its scholarship funds.

President Jesse Maxwell made the announcement at a recent club meeting and noted they expect to remedy the poultry shortage for next year.

The group heard from Heather Corey, Pendleton Round-Up director and court chaperone. In 1973, Heather was a princess for the event, queen in 1974 and the first woman to serve as a director of the Round-up committee. She introduced current court members Queen Mackenzie Beard, and princesses Allison Frey, Cory O'Neill and Sarah Smith, all of Pendleton, and Brittney Granger of Milton-Freewater.

A fourth-generation Round-Up participant, Mackenzie, 20, has 17 years of riding experience. She was a Round-up princess for the 2009 court. She is majoring in merchandising management at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Allison, 19, has been involved with Round-Up events for several years and also has 17 years of riding experience. She is studying science for a transfer degree at Blue Mountain Community College.

Brittney, 20, has served as princess and 2009 queen of the Milton-Freewater Pioneer Posse Court. She was a princess on the 2010 court for the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days. She has 14 years of riding experience and is enrolled in the business management program at BMCC. The daughter of Kevin and Cindy Granger of Milton-Freewater, she graduated in 2009 from McLoughlin High School, where she played varsity soccer and basketball and was an officer in FFA. She hosted a Japanese exchange student for a year and served as a princess on the 2009 homecoming court.

Cory, 18, has 16 years of riding experience. She has volunteered in many positions with the Round-Up. She is majoring in biology at Eastern Oregon University, in preparation for a career as a veterinarian .

With 13 years of riding experience, Sarah, 20, has volunteered in many areas of Round-Up events. She is studying sports science at Oregon State University.

I love that our schools work to make the transition easier for students stepping up from fifth to sixth grade. Pioneer Middle School's WEBS/Where Everyone Belongs orientation program does just that with its sixth-graders. The international program is in more than 2,000 schools. The day before school started this fall, about 160 sixth-graders participated in WEBS. The 48 WEB leaders are older students who have volunteered to mentor sixth-graders this year.

Contact Annie Charnley Eveland at annieeveland@wwub.com or 526-8313.