by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Robert Williams of Garden Plain was the winner of the Kansas Wheat Festival grand prize drawing held at the Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce office, Monday afternoon.

Williams, who was in Wellington as the farm manager of Larry Steckline of the Steckline Report, was in Wellington Friday for the Ag Day Expo. While there, he placed his name in the grand prize drawing and came up big three days later.

For his winnings he will receive a free trip to Las Vegas and $1,000 in cash courtesy of the Wellington Golf Club, Day’s Funeral Home and Impact Bank of Wellington.

The drawing was the final event of a successful and busy Kansas Wheat Festival.

Shelley Hansel-Williams said the Festival had its hits and misses but was overall very positive.

“We sold out of buttons and had to reorder more,” Hansel-Williams said. “I don’t remember that ever happening.”

She said Friday evening’s parade and the Picnic in the Park were huge. The Picnic in the Park venue was changed from Melody Bowl to Sellers Park this year to coincide with the Wellington Heat game.

“I was told the carnival was elbow to elbow, and I know the downtown events were very well attended,” Hansel-Williams said. “Also the glass show will be back next year (more on that later).”

So what were the negatives?

“Well, I think communication is always a problem,” Hansel-Williams said. “There really isn’t one main source in Wellington where we can get information to the people and that is frustrating. I don’t know how many people came up to me during the weekend and said, ‘I didn’t know this or this was going on.'”

Hansel-Williams said the heat tends to put a damper on the Wheat Festival.

“But I don’t know what to do about that,” Hansel-Williams said. “People have suggested moving it to September, but I don’t see that happening.”

She also said participation for many of the Wheat Festival events were down.

“I think a lot that was due to the Fourth of July being so late in the week,” Hansel-Williams said. “People were just getting done with the holiday when they realized the Festival was the next week and that caused a lot of people to miss deadlines.”

Still, overall, the Festival was a huge success, Hansel-Williams said.

“I was talking to our city manager (Gus Collins) and he was asking me if I was happy,” she said. “I said I’m happy but not satisfied. If you are satisfied then things won’t get better. I want the festival to keep getting better.”

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