POW/MIA group elects Blake as its new director
By Debbie Bryce - Journal Writer
POCATELLO - Sgt. 1st Class Jim Blake is the new director for the POW/MIA Awareness Rally Corporation.
Blake is deployed with the 116th Combat Brigade in Iraq and current director Jim Neal will continue to act as the group's director until he returns.
Blake was the only nominee for the position.
"I am the lame duck," Neal said. "I'll be making decisions with the board and I'll keep Jim abreast of what's going on."
Neal said the POW/MIA Awareness Rally elects new officers every five years. Blake will serve from 2006 to 2010.
"I know that this rally and its mission will be in good hands," he said. "With his expertise, experience and dedication we can expect great things to happen."
The 116th is due to return in December, but a specific date has not been determined.
"There are rumblings that they may extend the troops' stay in Iraq," Neal said.
The group held its annual motorcycle rodeo at Bannock County Fairgrounds in July. The event was previously staged at the Power County Fairgrounds, but the rodeo outgrew the rural venue.
Neal said more than 10,000 people attended the rodeo this year making the Bannock County premier event the largest in the rally's five-year history.
"The move to Bannock County was very successful," he said. "I believe the businesses around town did very well too."
The group is already gearing up for next year with six sponsors currently on board and nine vendors looking for locations at the rodeo.
"We want to involve the public, we want people to know who we are," he said.
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command will be back in 2006, as well as representatives from the National League of Families. Money raised at the rodeo is divided between the Pocatello Veterans Home and the NLF.
JPAC, a combined military organization, works to locate, identify and recover the remains of American servicemen and women still missing.
Rescue teams are currently in Louisiana assisting with relief efforts following hurricane Katrina.
Neal said minor changes including the location of vendors will be take place at next year's event, which promises to be bigger and better.
"We're awfully proud of all of it," he said.
Debbie Bryce is a reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at 239-3132 or by e-mail at dbryce@journalnet.com
© 2005 Pocatello Idaho State Journal
Pocatello, ID