Advertisement That is quite an honor since Riverfest officials sift through 100 or so potential nominations for the post each year. “We’re blessed in this community with so many wonderful volunteers,” said Strutt, who is Onalaska High School band director (he was a band director at West Salem High School up until 1998, when he took the position in Onalaska).
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Riverfest Commodore Dawson Strutt gives the traditional commodore kiss to Kelley Bahr of Onalaska at the Riverfest grounds in La Crosse Friday. A former West Salem music teacher who now teaches in Onalaska, Strutt still has a big commitment ahead of him as Riverfest’s ambassador.
Photo by Peter Thomson |
Strutt first learned he might be the 2009 Commodore at a meeting of the Riverfest board back in February. The meeting had ostensibly been called so he could brief the board on the possibility of having an opening day parade for the festival. That, however, was a ruse.
“They let me get through the whole presentation,” Strutt said. “When it was over they laughed, passed me a commodore button and said ‘Ask your family about this.’”
Strutt was bowled over by the honor. “My first reaction was ‘I can’t believe this is happening!’ My second reaction was “I have to talk to my family.’”
As it turned out, his family was enthusiastic about the idea. The commodore reigns for a year and the one potential problem was all the parades Strutt was committed to be in as part of the Onalaska High School marching band — the same parades that the Riverfest commodore is expected to be in.
Before accepting the honor, Strutt asked his OHS Principal Peter Woerpel whether it would be OK for him to become Riverfest commodore.
“Absolutely!” was Woerpel’s response. “He (Woerpel) is going to march in my place when I can’t be with the band,” Strutt explained.
Strutt said the reception in June when he officially became commodore was one of the highlights of his life. “My whole family was there,” Strutt said. He and his wife Jackie (who taught in West Salem for 31 years) have a blended family of five grown children who came in from all over the country for the ceremony.
One of Jackie’s sons is an entertainer and he put together songs and skits about Strutt.
“It was a ton of fun,” Strutt said, “and I hardly had to say anything, which was good. Afterwards, we stayed up talking until 3:30 in the morning — I told them that was already my Riverfest highlight.”
Although this year’s Riverfest had an unusually chilly beginning night, Strutt seems to have enjoyed every minute of it. “It was a great week,” he said. “The past commodores took me under their wing and acted as mentors, which made things a lot easier.”
Despite days that usually began around 10 a.m. and didn’t end until 14 hours later, Strutt said he loved meeting and greeting people and introducing the entertainment.
“It’s great to see people like Lee Raasch (president of Western Technical College) and Randy Erickson (editor of the Coulee News and the Onalaska Holmen Courier-Life) in different roles,” Strutt said. Both men play in rock bands —Raasch plays bass with The Executives and Erickson plays guitar with Highway 16.
Asked what he enjoyed most, Strutt’s first thought was the kid’s area: “That was great, seeing kids enjoying themselves with their parents and grandparents. It was such an eye-opener for me to see how many families come down there during the festival.”
Strutt said that, just like everybody else, his family would come down to the riverfront with blankets to watch the fireworks on Saturday evening.
“The kids were the most fun, but as far as an event, how can you beat the fireworks? This year I got to sit on the levee with my family and watch the beautiful show put on by the Skyrockers. It was neat to be part of that tradition.”
Strutt hastened to point out that the Skyrockers, like so many of the people who make Riverfest work, are volunteers.
“I’d like to thank the volunteers, the board of directors, all the sponsors and, last but not least, all the people who came down.”
Finally, Strutt had a word for the high school students in his own band: “I want to thank them personally. They played during the reception and again on opening day — I was very proud of them.”
