The 2013 Aquafest Committee has selected long-time resident Nancy Mitchell as this year’s Grand Marshal. The announcement was made at the February 5 Lion’s Club meeting. With this great honor comes a ride in the Grand Parade on Saturday, July 27 as Aquafest’s special guest.

Nancy Mitchell was married to Jim Mitchell for over 60 years and has been part of this community since her marriage.

Nancy met Jim while attending the University of Washington where she was a member of Phi Beta Phi.

There are so many reasons Mitchell deserves this great honor including her service to the Lake Stevens Historical Society, being a volunteer firefighter (decades ago), Lake Stevens School Board Member and her help in creating the Lake Stevens Sewer District.

 “Nancy was a driving force in bringing a sewer system to our lake.  She was a fervent member of the bond committee and went door-to-door campaigning,” they read as Mitchell was introduced at the Lion’s Club meeting.

Mitchell continues her work on the Lake Stevens Historical Society board to this day.

“Her knowledge of the people and events in our community is invaluable not to mention her numerous contributions to the museum displays.  She is a point of reference for many questions that involve Lake Stevens,” the statement reads.

A story was shared at the Grand Marshal announcement about Mitchell and her quest to find a waterway from Lake Stevens to Everett. Keep in mind that Jim would call people he knew along the way to find out if they had seen Nancy on her travels. He wanted to make sure she was safe.

“Nancy is our resident explorer,” it was read.  “She determined that there must be a water route from Lake Stevens to Everett.  So she took a canoe, entered the outflow paddled to the Little Pilchuck, then to the Pilchuck proper and on to the Snohomish River and Everett.  It took her two days and included encounters with blackberries and fences, rapids and stagnation. But she proved her theory and at an age where most of us can only think about sitting in our chairs and reading about tales about exploration.”

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