Swannacks report on trip to convention

Lamont, JEAN STROMBERGER & KATHY SHIELDS, Gazette Correspondents

Art and Jill Swannack and family with exchange students Thomas Wu and Miguel Pineda packed their car Jan. 15 and started the trip to the American Sheep Industry National convention in Reno.

They headed to Portland to take Thomas and Miguel to see Chinatown and the Oregon coast. On the way they stayed overnight in Hermiston and then visited Bonneville Dam’s sturgeon hatchery. They visited the Evergreen air and space museum at McMinnville, Ore., and saw the Spruce Goose and other exhibits.

That night and most of the next day was spent in Lincoln City, Ore., shopping, seeing the coast and visiting the aquarium at Newport. They stopped that night and drove to Reno Tuesday. Art’s meetings started Wednesday morning and went through Saturday. He was elected to another two- year term as director for region 8 which includes Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

Jill and the kids attended the Ranching for Profit short course for two days and also toured the Rafter 7 Ranch whose mission is to make range sheep more profitable through improvements in wool quality, hardiness and lambing percentage increases.

The kids also did a scavenger hunt as part of the youth program where they had to ask producers where they lived, what type of sheep they raised and how they got started raising sheep.

Sunday morning the family headed for home. They arrived that night after driving 758 miles. Thomas and Miguel were happy to be home, but also happy that they got to add several states to the places they have visited in America.

Don’t forget the potluck at the Lamont Community Center Sunday, Feb. 6.