By Mike McKenna
The Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley is excited to announce that Lynn Campion has been selected as this year’s grand marshal for Hailey’s famous Days of the Old West Parade on the Fourth of July.
Lynn is a longtime resident who first began hanging her hat in the Valley in the early 1970s. Born and raised in Colorado, Lynn worked as a professional photographer and is the author of two books, “Training and Showing the Cutting Horse” and “Rodeo.”
A former national cutting horse champion, Lynn is the ideal selection for this year’s grand marshal because of the numerous and often under-the-radar positive impacts she has had across our community.
Lynn has been a ski instructor for Sun Valley and a volunteer firefighter for the Ketchum Fire Department. She helped bring the first advanced EMT program to the area and was a big part in founding the 5B Restoration Coalition after the devastating Beaver Creek Fire in 2013.
Lynn has also served on various local nonprofit boards, including The Community Library, St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center and Hospice of the Wood River Valley. The Campion name is now best known locally for the Campion Ice House, which was made a reality thanks in large part to the generosity of Lynn’s family’s foundation.
Lynn is married to the acclaimed Western artist, Theodore Waddell, with whom she teamed up to create a couple of children’s books that star a dog named Tucker.
Both Lynn and Ted are looking forward to being part of Hailey’s iconic parade.
“It’s humbling to be selected as the grand marshal by a community that has been so good to me for so many years,” Lynn said.
Please Support the Fourth of July
Hailey’s annual Independence Day celebration is the quintessential Fourth of July in the West. It is a celebration of America and our wonderful community. It’s why thousands of people from throughout Idaho, the country and the Wood River Valley choose to celebrate our nation’s most hallowed holiday in Hailey ever year. It’s also why the Fourth of July week has had the highest hotel occupancy rates locally for years.
Hailey is as good as it gets on the Fourth of July, but we can’t make it happen without your support!
The Days of the Old West Parade and fireworks cost close to $30,000
and we need your support to make this magical day happen.
There are lots of ways to support the Fourth. You can make a donation, volunteer, enter a float in the parade or buy a raffle ticket. This year we’re raffling off a brand new Traeger grill as well as a variety of other prizes. Buy tickets and check out the grill at the Hailey Welcome Center or Idaho Lumber.
For more information or to make a donation, please go to HaileyIdaho.com, email Mike@ValleyCahmber.org or call (208) 788-3848.
Mike McKenna is the executive director of The Chamber – Hailey & The Wood River Valley. He can be reached at Mike@ValleyChamber.org or by calling (208) 788-3484.