After a parade, live performances by local
musicians, various family events, a lively
speech by Representative Heather Scott, and an
outstanding fireworks show, it is very safe to
say that Boundary County’s annual Fourth of July
extravaganza was a smashing success. People from
all over the community braved the scorching
weather to come out and celebrate our nation’s
independence. From the looks of things, good
times were had by all that attended. What people
do not see, however, is the effort that goes in
to planning an event like this for our
community. The Fourth of July celebration is something in which Gary Leonard, lead organizer for the event, takes great pride. With the help of the community, Mr. Leonard has worked hard for the past three years to make it an annual event that is truly special to this community and celebrates who we are. Each year, he aims to provide a celebration that is fun and family-oriented. He thoroughly enjoys seeing the community come together for an evening.
Mr. Leonard began his efforts to organize the Fourth of July celebration here in Boundary County in 2012.
He was disappointed that we did
not have any sort of event in 2011 and made a
commitment not to let the annual celebration
fizzle out completely. Right then he began
creating a vision for what has become our
community’s annual Fourth celebration. “It took
a while to build enthusiasm,” he said. However,
after running for Boundary County Sheriff in
2012, he was in the public eye and able to build
credibility. Since then, he has gained an
incredible amount of support from people and
businesses throughout the community. “People
here are unique,” he said. “They are open and
accepting.”A huge, and what Mr. Leonard believes to be the most difficult aspect of organizing the Fourth of July celebration, is the fundraising. In March, Mr. Leonard began delivering letters to various businesses in town asking for donations. This year, $8,500 was raised, which exceeded what was expected. “I look at every donation as a gift,” he said. Because of this, Mr. Leonard works especially hard to remain accountable for every penny he spends. Toward this end, all of the funds he raises for the event are kept in an account with the City of Bonners Ferry.
While Mr. Leonard’s favorite part of the Fourth of July celebration is seeing it all come together and hearing reactions after the fireworks show, he also enjoys the parade and works hard to build excitement for it. In fact, during this year’s Memorial Day Parade he handed out promotional flyers and encouraged people to also come out for the Fourth of July Parade.
When asked specifically about his role in the celebration, Mr. Leonard admits he cannot take all of the credit. He believes his management style to be one of delegation while providing direction, and welcomes any ideas, input or help of any kind. His motto – keep it simple and build a few traditions. He works hard to be flexible and is not opposed to changes. For example, he said that the biggest change came with last year’s firework show. In the past, lighting off the fireworks was quite the process, as those involved had to move fireworks back and forth between sand-filled truck beds in order to compensate a small number of tubes. Last year, they were able to have a tube for each firework, which made the process much easier and safer. This year, a set piece was made that featured a big, blazing, number 100 to celebrate the Centennial year for Boundary County. It went up in an array of sparks during the finale.
“The beauty of the Fourth of July,” Mr. Leonard
said, “is that nobody can screw up the date.” He
believes that people naturally want to celebrate
the Fourth, which has made it an easy event to
promote. He really enjoys seeing the community
come together and having fun at such a
family-friendly event. Mr. Leonard would like to
give a huge thank-you to everyone that came down
and supported the event. “Thank you,” he said,
“to everyone that was involved or attended.”------------------------
Take a look at our other Fourth of July story posted on NewsBF, Boundary County knows how to celebrate a Fourth of July! You'll find it posted on our home page.
And, we have a video featuring highlights of the Eastport and Bonners Ferry parades. It lasts about 2 1/2 minutes. You can find that video by clicking here.