Fresh start for LibertyFest’s 51st year

It is time once again for Edmond to host the largest and certainly the best 4th of July festival in the State of Oklahoma and beyond, LibertyFest. It is now beginning its 51st year of celebration and no community celebrates their patriotism like Edmond folks. It is an honor that Edmond Life & Leisure has once again been selected to produce the official program for LibertyFest that is included in this week’s issue of the paper and is online from our website www.edmondlifeandleisure.com. We look forward to seeing you at all the magnificent events for this fantastic 51st year of celebration.

Ray Hibbard

Last year, the 50th celebration of LibertyFest was spectacular. Most of the folks working on the committee had been doing so for 30 or more years. The committee chairs had been in place for decades. It was the perfect team to have our 50th celebration with all that experience on hand. We had the same treasurer, secretary and same schedule of events.

So, what do you do to start the 51st year of LibertyFest? Adding to the challenge was that all those experienced committee folks decided that it would be a good time to retire from the committee since we had just celebrated the 50th anniversary. I mean just about 100%. They did not plan it together. It was just that each of them was thinking the same thing. Heath issues were a consideration as well.

Being at any of the events all day in the summer heat is hard on any age group. These entrenched folks forged ahead for so many years in service to LibertyFest and we appreciate what they did to make it the greatest celebration in Oklahoma. Longtime committee member, June Cartwright, was going to stay and steer us through all the changes but tragically we lost her early last year.

I would have been willing to step in as president again but honestly, this magnificent celebration of the 4th of July needed youth and energy to begin the next 50 years. Heck folks, I will turn 65 in a few weeks. Granted, that is young compared to the average age of previous Libertyfest committee presidents but June and I both had talked about much younger folks taking over LibertyFest.

In typical June fashion of being prepared, she had recruited a young man who had been active in the Edmond community for years. She made sure he had been named president of LibertyFest and we are all blessed for what June did. His name is Dr. Eriech Tapia, and he was working on obtaining his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Both his undergraduate degree and masters came from the University of Central Oklahoma. June thought that left him plenty of time to be president of LibertyFest.

Of course, when he agreed to the job, he thought June would be right there to run interference and help the process along. Eriech did not shrink from his acceptance of responsibility. He moved forward in a big and bold way. Here are a few highlights of his success:

He replaced all the vacant positions with a group of young and energetic committee members. These folks are smart and full of youth. They have experience running other festivals and took on their roles in LibertyFest with an incredible attitude. They listened to what had been done in the past but did not hesitate to change what needed to be changed such as moving all the books to electronic formats. Forms are now digital and more. Odds are that we will not have committee members that stay for thirty years in the future so now the information will be so easy to pass along to the next person that helps put on part of the LibertyFest events.

LibertyFest has always been run on sound financial footing and reporting. The books are audited each year with full reports going to the City of Edmond. We use an outside CPA to review and conduct the audit. Eriech has continued this important function. He has also recruited new sponsors and found a way to decrease some of the cost. LibertyFest is a total volunteer effort with no paid positions, yet he still found ways to cut expenses keeping most of the events free for the public.

He added an event called the ballet and the band concert. It was held right before the flag retirement ceremony conducted by the VFW. I was not able to attend but it was a big hit. Over three hundred people showed up for the show and I am told a couple of recruits for the Army enlisted as well.

He did all of this while finishing his Ph. D from OU. There were times that were tough, but Eriech kept his cool and worked through any issues like the professional that he is. I am telling you folks; we owe the man a giant “Thank You” for making sure that LibertyFest happens this year but also for rebuilding the committee structure for future success as well.

Thank you Dr. Eriech Tapia!

We need volunteers for next year as well. Two events this year could not be held due to a lack of a chair for the committee. One is the beloved KiteFest and the other is the Road Rally. If you have an interest in helping with either of these or other committees for LibertyFest shoot me an email, ray@edmondpaper.com. Some committees have cochairs this year which makes for cutting the work in half and can be fun if friends do it together. So, come on your kite flyers, step forward and help us bring the event back next year! Planning is a yearlong activity, but we only meet once per month for an hour to coordinate activity and help each other so email me now to get involved at any level.

We also owe a giant thank you to Citizen’s Bank of Edmond for being the Premiere sponsor for this big event. "LibertyFest is truly one of the best line-up of celebrations in Oklahoma. “Citizens Bank of Edmond is proud to be a headlining sponsor of LibertyFest and we look forward to seeing our friends and neighbors at the events throughout our community, celebrating our great nation,” said Citizens Bank of Edmond CEO, Jill Castilla. Castilla will be this year’s parade marshal. She has brought security and soundness to the oldest, locally owned bank in Edmond as well as recognition and innovation from around the nation.

Edmond’s July 4th Festival is a non-profit 501(c)3 operation made up of individual volunteers from the Edmond area. Its purpose is to produce a series of family-oriented events around the 4th of July to celebrate the birthday of this great nation and the heritage of Oklahoma. As the host city of LibertyFest, Edmond highlights a series of events that help enhance the quality of life in Edmond, show pride in the community, support for non-profit and civic organizations, and provide educational opportunities.

The big heroes for LibertyFest are all the volunteers. They contribute hundreds of hours to making this weeklong celebration easy for Edmond to enjoy. The work and planning for LibertyFest events go on year-round. Volunteers take time away from their families and other responsibilities to make sure we all have a pleasant and safe experience at these events.

We wish you and your family a safe and happy Fourth of July and hope you will join us in our Edmond LibertyFest Celebration. It is certainly a fitting tribute to our fine nation. It is one of the best celebrations in our great United States. Our family looks forward to seeing you along the parade route and at all the other events.

(Ray Hibbard may be reached at ray@edmoindpaper.com)

“Four Seasons” in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the University of Central Oklahoma campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper.

Please e-mail contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing.

Commissioned as a partnership between UCO, the City of Edmond and the Edmond Visual Arts Commission, “Four Seasons” was created by sculptor Kevin Box of New Mexico and was dedicated on the campus on March 24, 2011.

Kevin is a member of the National Sculptor’s Guild. His Box Studio LLC is a strong supporter of the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle concept, using recycled metal as part of the casting process for his sculptures. All of his work is 100 percent recyclable. For more on Edmond public dok.com/public-art.php. please visit