Community Spotlight

The Public Relations Committee of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce presented Roylene Peterson with a special Certificate of Appreciation to thank her for all she does to make our events successful.
Roylene Peterson was born and raised in Vernal. She married her junior high sweetheart, Bryce Peterson, and has been married for 20 years. Together they have one daughter and one son. In her spare time she loves anything to do with nature and they do a lot of camping and fishing.
Roylene has worked at the Woodfire Grill for 23 years. Every Tuesday she is here helping us have a good lunch with great service. Whenever we have dinner events, there is Roylene making sure everyone has what they need. She is always friendly, helpful and smiling where ever you see her.

Women (many with men in tow) flocked to the Uintah Conference Center on Saturday to enjoy perusing, sampling, learning, and shopping at the annual Women's Day Out event. This was the 19th year for the Women's Day Out event. Vendors and local organizations jump at the chance each year to share their products and information with local women, men, and their families.

January is full of winter fun in Roosevelt as part of their annual Winterfest celebration! Over the weekend, young and old enjoyed the magic of ice skating and sledding at Constitution Park. There will be more winter fun this month.
Photo Cred: Wendy Nicholson

January is full of winter fun in Roosevelt as part of their annual Winterfest celebration! Over the weekend, young and old enjoyed the magic of ice skating and sledding at Constitution Park. There will be more winter fun this month.
Photo Cred: Wendy Nicholson

Setting a great example of charity and Christmas spirit, students banded together at Roosevelt Jr. High for a successful food drive. They collected 2,314 pounds of food to donate to the local food pantry. UBTech helped transport the food to the food pantry and also provided donuts to Ms. Allen’s class for collecting the most food. Thanks to all that participated in this great cause to help fill the pantry shelves during the holidays.

Visitors to Trees For Charity at the Uintah Conference Center have the special opportunity every year to experience a live Nativity. This cherished annual tradition had an extra special actor on Friday with 2-month-old Philip playing the role of a calm, sweet baby Jesus with perfection.

Crowds stayed dry and fully entertained at the Western Park during Holly Days Festival. Visitors played Bingo, enjoyed camel rides, got energy out on the inflatables, rode water bumper cars, and crossed fingers hoping to win a prize from the main stage.

The Uintah Basin Youth Chamber Orchestra wowed in their fall concert. The highlight for the youth was playing a selection from the Planets, something they had requested of their director for years. Well done to our young local musicians!

The Uintah/Daggett Children’s Justice Center received some much deserved love this week in the form of donations. Joye and Larry Rowell showed up with a trailer full of donations including snacks, activity books, blankets, supplies, and more. The Uintah/Daggett Children’s Justice Center offered their appreciation to the Ashley Stake Relief Society for the donations and to the detectives from the sheriff’s office who helped unload the trailer of donations.

The Hospitality Committee had the pleasure of presenting Quinn Bennion and Megan Carroll- Munoz with the DinoSOAR Service Award for the month of October! Quinn and Megan personally greeted around 6,100 people during a thirteen night run of the Hotel Vernal Haunt. They always greeted people with friendly smiles and took the time to talk with each group about what brought them to the Haunt, made sure to recommend other downtown business they should visit and gave them ideas as to other activities they might want to do if they weren’t from the area. Many a times, Megan led the entire lobby in the ‘Happy Birthday’ song to help someone celebrate their special day. Not only did they provide over the top service to the guests, but also to the 90 + volunteers.
Congratulations, Quinn and Megan!

Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country is family owned by the Messinger and Synhorst families. Jess Larson is the manager here in the Vernal area. There are 14 employee in Vernal and 875 total company wide. Coke sponsors The Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo; Recovery Days; The Dino Tri; The Raptor Hollow 10K; IFA Kids Carnival; Dept. of Child and Family Services Fall Carnival; Strata Charity Golf Tournament; Little League Baseball Tournament; Hit, Run, Score; Relay for Life; The Rowdy Worm; and Grad Night. For their many and varied contributions to our community, the Public Relations Committee of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to present Business of the Month to Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country.

MACC presents James and the Giant Peach, Jr.

The Meeker Arts and Cultural Council [MACC] Center Stage Youth Theatrical Group [CSYTG] in cooperation with the ERBM Recreation and Park District, proudly presents the Fall musical James and the Giant Peach, Jr. on Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 pm; Friday November 22 at 1:00 pm [free matinee performance for youth age 13 and under], and at 7:00 pm; Saturday November 23 at 2:00 pm. Due to renovation of the MHS auditorium, the production will be held at the Meeker Elementary School Cafetorium at 201 Ute Rd.

The Rotary Club of Vernal teamed up with Vernal Christian Church to bring warmth to the community on Saturday as they gave out hundreds of coats, mostly to children.

It’s not too early to talk Christmas at the Uintah County Library. It was a full house at the family session of the Oh Fudge! candy demonstration on Saturday morning. There were enough snowman themed treat samples for all!

The 3D Archery Range at Steinaker State Park is ready to welcome excited hunters in training. Park officials announced on Wednesday that the Range would be open to the public starting today, November 7th, starting at noon. They gave a big thank you to Utah Outdoor Recreation, SCI of Vernal, and Uintah County for making the Range possible. The Range will stay open this year until it snows. Entrance fees to Steinaker State Park still apply, however, Friday, November 8th, will be free from noon to 6pm.

There are plenty of places to take in Fall colors around the Basin. The Ashley Nature Park is a favorite spot on 1500 North 1700 West in Vernal for a Fall walk and a picnic.

The area known as the Overlook has an all new look. Vernal City announced last month that the rest area would be decommissioned and the work to make it so is nearly complete.

Hotel Vernal Haunt had a fantastic opening weekend with nearly 500 visitors during the first night. For the Haunt’s schedule and tickets, visit www.hotelvernalhaunt.com.

Teams came from Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado to join Utah softball lovers for the Scared Hitless softball tournament over the weekend. Between the costumes and excellent competition it was an epic weekend for all.

The Red Cross Halloween Blood Drive presenter by Evans Family Media was a great success on Saturday! To find upcoming blood drives in the Uintah Basin, visit redcrossblood.org.

Brass lovers had a special treat this month at Vernal Theatre:LIVE. The United States Air Force Academy Band: Stellar Brass player in concert and showered the local crowd with gear, free CDs, and autographs!

Red Cross Halloween Blood Drive, Wednesday October 16, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at L&L Motor in Roosevelt. Each donor receives a free Hotel Vernal Haunt ticket. Signup now at RedCrossBlood.org promo code: GIFT OF LIFE and you're registered for a chance to win one of five $500.00 gift cards. Presented by Evans Family Media

The Hospitality Committee had the pleasure of presenting Jessica Prather with the DinoSOAR Service Award at our Chamber Luncheon!
Jessica currently works at both the Holiday Inn Express and Ooh La La. She has about eight years of customer service experience and loves meeting new people! She is always striving to do her best, always going above and beyond, and makes her customers feel important with her friendly smile and kind attitude.

Allred’s Landscaping and Construction was honored recently by UBTech with their Connectivity Award for making it easier for single mothers in the tri-county area to obtain an education. UBTech President, Aaron K. Weight, awarded Ben Allred, co-owner of Allred’s Landscaping, with the award.