Our Thanks

Without help from our community, we could not possibly put on events as large as the Ol’ Marais River Run and Back to the 60’s Cruise Night. To thank these organizations for giving up their time to help us, donations have been made to many of the following groups who volunteer and spend several hours to help control parking in the downtown area during the cruise night. Some groups help keep Forest Park clean throughout the weekend. Our thanks go out to each of the following groups for all they do for our event and our community.

Frontier District 4-H Youth Development
4-H is a community of young people across Kansas engaged in learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. Caring adults who support the programs are essential for youth to achieve their potential based on the guidance, respect, skills, knowledge, and wisdom adults can share. Each of the four H’s of the clover represents ways youth can grow and develop; Head, critical thinking, problem-solving; Heart, self-discipline, integrity, communication; Hands, serving others; and Health, choosing healthy lifestyles.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Reserves
This group has assisted with our event for many years. The officers involved not only have an annual food booth at the Back to the 60’s Cruise night but also assist with traffic control during the cruise.

Centropolis Christian Church
They are a very small church with an average attendance of about 40 people.   They are very active and their mission is to help those in need to improve our community.  They support several mission projects each month including Alpha Christian Children’s home, Life Care Center, American International Ministries, and CTN Ministries.  They provide meals and assistance to those in need, and sponsor many events throughout the year.  Additionally they assist the car club with traffic control at the annual car show. They are very blessed at their little church and work diligently to bless those in our community and also the world. 

Franklin County Water Rescue
Pottawatomie Fire provides a wide range of suppression and rescue duties. We have personnel trained and certified in collapse and trench rescue, HazMat, Structural firefighting, wildland firefighting, wide-area search & rescue, advanced blackwater recovery divers, rescue divers & swift water rescue personnel. We also provide BLS First Response for Franklin County EMS. Pottawatomie Township also provides these services to all jurisdictions within Franklin County & provides them to Miami County and Anderson County through written mutual aid agreements.

Volunteers provide most of the labor, and individual and corporate donors provide money and materials to build Habitat houses. Partner families themselves invest hundreds of hours of labor—”sweat equity”—into building their homes and the homes of others. Their mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses.

Optimists International & District #37 (Ottawa, Kansas)
The mission of the Optimists is to provide hope and a positive vision to bring out the best in kids. Their vision is to promote an active interest in good government and civic affairs; to inspire respect for the law; to promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people; to aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one’s self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life, and the world.

Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS)
Volunteers are a vital part of the Ottawa Police Department Family! Serving side-by-side with the officers and paid staff, the men and women of VIPs actively give back to the Ottawa community, enjoy personally fulfilling experiences, and perform vital functions in the department. Members of VIPS donate 1200–2500 hours per year.

Community Service Programs for VIPs include McGruff The Crime Dog, DARE Camp, Citizens Watch, conducting surveys for various City agencies, roadway surveys, traffic safety monitoring, and more. To volunteer, please contact Ron, the Volunteer Coordinator, at rhughes@ottawaks.gov.

The VIPs are a huge help with traffic safety at our Back to the 60’s Cruise Night each year and also serve as security at Forest Park during the overnight hours of the Ol’ Marais River Run. Many thanks to the VIPs for the services they provide.