Mayors from four Clark County cities -- and a ringer from Ridgefield -- faced off in a bag-folding contest Saturday to promote the Walk & Knock food drive. Participants were, from right, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Washougal Mayor Sean Guard, Battle Ground Mayor Shane Bowman, Woodland Mayor Grover Laseke and the eventual winner, Ridgefield Councilman Don Stose. (Jessica Prokop/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
As the crowd counted down from 10, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt picked up his pace and grabbed another paper bag from the stack in front of him.
It was a valiant effort on his part, but as the clock ran out, he had only made a dent in the stack.
Instead, Ridgefield Councilman Don Stose quite literally bagged first place, folding 70 shopping bags. He donned a sash that read “Bag Folder 2015.”
The light-hearted competition pitted Clark County city officials against one another to see who is the fastest at folding bags for this year’s Walk & Knock food drive. The competition Saturday highlighted the bag-folding event, which was estimated to bring out about 300 volunteers to the Clark County Food Bank to prepare for the Dec. 5 food drive.
Each November, volunteers fold thousands of Walk & Knock shopping bags for insertion into local newspapers. The bags are delivered all over the county. People are encouraged to fill the bags with food and place them on their porches for pickup on the first Saturday in December. Volunteers also knock on doors to ask for donations, all of which benefit the Clark County Food Bank.
On this Saturday, the politicians were given stacks of 25 paper bags and had five minutes to fold as many as they could. When they completed a stack, they’d call for a runner to grab them.
“I was very meticulous about how I folded, using the block so the bag folds nice and tight for the newspaper,” Leavitt said.
Stose, who filled in for Ridgefield Mayor Ron Onslow, faced off against the mayors of Battle Ground, Washougal, Woodland and Vancouver.
He credited his special technique for the win. “The other guys were using blocks. I used my hands to crease (the bags),” he said, adding that it saved him time. “I walked around and saw the kids and how they were doing it.”
“Yeah, he was the wise one,” Woodland Mayor Grover Laseke said of Stose.
This was the first time Clark County mayors competed at the bag-folding event. Laseke called Stose’s win “beginner’s luck.”
“(Stose) was the smart one, going around to see how everyone is doing it,” he said.
But all jokes aside, Laseke called the event “a great opportunity to publicize something that’s really important for all of our communities.”
Volunteers needed
Walk & Knock President Justin Wood said this year’s food drive is about 1,000 volunteers short for the Dec. 5 pickup day.
“We are hurting for volunteers,” he said. “That always makes us a little nervous.”
Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to register online at walkandknock.org.
Washougal Mayor Sean Guard agreed, and said he’s glad the food drive has grown like it has. “There’s just so much need out there; it’s a shame,” he said.
When the competition ended, each politician signed the bottom of a bag. Whoever receives a signed bag, is encouraged to fill it up, call the number listed and in turn will be treated to lunch with a mayor.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
