On January 9th we lost one of our most cherished members.  Bettie Waits Bangs passed away.  Bettie was one of our most ardent and active members.  She always had ideas for doing something new.  What a fertile and active mind, never a dull moment with Bettie around.

District 6 used to have two shows each year.  Bettie would put on one of them.  She was highly successful at attracting top talent and putting on a highly successful event.  She also ran all of our junior events at our campout and was very active in support of all junior activities.  Bettie was a very active and supportive member of not only District 6, but of all the state activities. She attended every Board Meeting, every State Convention, and the State Contest when it was held in Richland, Prosser and Wenatchee. She was especially supportive of WOTFA’s youth members including creating activities for them at the Workshop when they were out of class. For many years she and her husband, Leroy Bangs hosted the Winter Board meeting in their home in Ellensburg. She has passed on her love of the music to her children and grandchildren, and her willingness to “promote, and perpetuate old-time and traditional fiddling, and related traditional arts” as stated in our by-laws..  She kept programs and memorabilia from every event she attended, and there were a lot.  You would see Bettie and her movie camera at every show, campout or any other event that could be recorded.

Our condolences go out to her family. She will be truly missed.