Veterans Standown named biggest in the country

PLAINS - The Sanders County Fairgrounds opened their gates in an effort to give back to some of the most deserving people in the country - the veterans.

Over 2,000 veterans from near and far lined up for the Tri-State Veterans Standown, the line stretching out of the fairgrounds and into the parking lot by the river.

According to the organizer of the event, Billy Hill, the numbers he received from a government official showed that this year’s Standown beat the largest one in the country.

“We figured we were at 2,300, serving more people at the Standown here in Plains, Montana (than anywhere else),” said Hill.

As the line slowly progressed, veterans were evaluated for medical issues screening for PTSD, Agent Orange and a variety of other disorders, helping to collect statistics for the veterans in this area.

Montana is home to the most veterans in the lower 48 states and the need to provide those veterans with benefits is a great one.

With 2.5 million dollars of military surplus available, the veterans made their way through the three barns at the fairgrounds, which were housed to the brim with heavy-duty sleeping bags, boots, pants and bed sheets.

Everything a person would want was available for grabs, offering one item free to each veteran or veteran’s widow that passed through.

As they entered the barn, the vets were provided with a duffle bag to stuff their goods into. Volunteers helped the veterans carry and pack their bags while others manned the tables, dishing out the proper size of clothing and merchandise.

The veterans were than taxied over to a station where food was given out and offered potatoes, onions, fresh vegetables, macaroni, drinks, among other items.

In all about 24 pallets of food were donated from the Montana Food Bank Network and Second Harvest Produce in Spokane, Washington.

Food was served as well with homemade cinnamon rolls and homemade bread winning over the crowds.

The Ryan family, which consisted of Roxann, Darcy, Carly, Tara-Lee, Newman, Jake and Jubil, slaved countless hours to provide a delicious meal to those in attendance.

“When you start feeding that many people fresh baked goods, it’s a lot of work,” said Hill stating that he doubts the mother Roxann slept more than a few hours on both nights of the event.

Close to 150 volunteers gave up their free time to help organize the event, which took place on both Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Veterans and volunteers alike coned about the success of the event, the Standown running like a well oiled machine with little problems or hold up.

“It went absolutely trouble free without a glitch,” said Hill. “I was really, really impressed with the lack of any complication.”

The second day of the Standown was slower than the first with a stead dribble of veterans coming in throughout the day totaling near 600 veterans.

Overall, countless man hours were put into to ensure the event ended in a success.

“We worked ourselves into a fizzy. We wanted to do it right and with a lot of dignity and I believe we did,” said Hill.

Barney Mclinden from Heron and Gale Styger dedicated a lot of time and physical strength to the operation.

“I know for a fact that I couldn’t have carried off this event with such class without those two guys helping me,” said Hill.