Mayfield Town chooses Les and Darlene Bogh as 24th grand marshals

MAYFIELD—The Mayfield 24th of July Committee is pleased to honor Les and Darlene Bogh as the Grand Marshals of this year’s celebration, recognizing their lifelong commitment to family, faith, education, and community service.

Mayfield has been home to the Bogh family for generations. Les’s grandparents lived in Mayfield and his parents were raised here. Les and Darlene chose to make Mayfield their home as well, raising their family here and sharing nearly 48 years together in the community they love. Together, they built two homes in town, including their current home.

Throughout the years, Les and Darlene have been deeply involved in serving their community. Les served on the hospital board and devoted many years of service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His callings have included serving as a High Council member, teacher, and member of the bishopric. He shared his love of art by teaching community art classes and was an active member of the Mayfield Lions Club. Many residents have enjoyed his artistic talents through the paintings and wood projects he has donated to the annual 24th of July auction. He is also a member of the Woodturners and spent 39 years inspiring countless students as an art and mathematics teacher before retiring.

Darlene has likewise dedicated her life to serving others. Like her husband, she devoted her professional career to education and retired after 25 years of being a schoolteacher. She has also dedicated her time to serving others through many church callings, including various ward leadership positions, Relief Society Presidencies, and teaching positions. She was a member of the Lions Club and Literacy club for several years while also serving a term as President in each with compassion and devotion.

Together, Les and Darlene have built a family legacy that continues to grow. They are the proud parents of seven children and have been blessed with 27 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. One of their cherished traditions is the creation of the “Boghus Games.” A family Olympics celebration held in Mayfield that brings generations together in fun, friendly competition, and lasting memories held during the Olympic years.

The Mayfield community is pleased to recognize Les and Darlene as this year’s Grand Marshals and want to thank them for the example they have set through a lifetime of service and devotion to the town.

Mary Gilgen was grand marshal for annual Lamb Days in Fountain Green

FOUNTAIN GREEN—For more than 50 years, Mary Gilgen has been a familiar presence in Fountain Green. This year, the community is recognizing her as the 2026 Lamb Days Parade Grand Marshal.      

Mary and her late husband, Larry, raised their family across from the city park, where they enjoyed a front row view of Lamb Days each year. The celebration became the setting for countless family reunions and traditions.

“Everything Larry and I have done throughout our lives has been with our family in mind. We worked together, played together, and ate our family meals together every evening. It’s all about family,” Mary said.

The couple raised six children and are the grandparents of 20 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren, who affectionately call her “Grandma Grapes.”

The Gilgens were longtime Lamb Days volunteers, helping cut lamb, sell tickets, work concessions and support the youth lamb show. They also helped their sons shear and groom show lambs, while assisting with parade float decorating when their daughters served as Lamb Days royalty.

Mary recalled one year when a piano had been brought from the church to the city park for an event. A sudden downpour threatened to ruin it, and every towel the Gilgen family owned ended up at the park to help protect the instrument.

A lifelong Sanpete County resident, Mary was born in Manti and proudly considers herself a “Sanpeter,” following generations of pioneer ancestors. Her husband’s grandmother lived in Ephraim, her mother attended elementary school in Fountain Green, and her great-grandparents are buried in the Fountain Green Cemetery. Mary is an active member of the Fountain Green Uinta Springs Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

After marrying Larry D. Gilgen, the couple spent 15 years in Salt Lake City, where they began raising their family. Before leaving Salt Lake City, Mary completed a Red Cross home nursing course with the understanding that she would teach others. After settling in Fountain Green in 1973, she organized a nursing class that led to assisting a partially paralyzed, homebound woman.

Mary has served her church in numerous callings, including Relief Society president, Gospel Doctrine teacher, Sunday School and Primary teacher, Achievement Day leader, Cub Scout den mother and assistant Cub Scout master. She also helped with funeral luncheons and the Old Folks Party committee.

Mary and Larry oversaw the Lions Club Santa Sacks program for many years, supported Little League fundraisers and served as Youth City Council leaders while their sons were in high school.

Mary later served five terms, totaling 20 years, on the Fountain Green City Council, becoming only the second woman in the town’s history to hold the position.

Her community service also included serving as the local PTA president, regional representative to the Utah PTA and an election judge. In 1991, she began scheduling water for the Fountain Green Irrigation Company and, four years later, became its secretary-treasurer, a position she held for 25 years.

Throughout her years of service, Mary has remained committed to community involvement; “small towns need volunteers,” she said, “small towns run on volunteers.”

Mary said she is honored to be selected as grand marshal of the 2026 Lamb Days Parade. She hopes this year’s celebration, held in conjunction with the nation’s 250th anniversary, will be the community’s best yet.

Ron and Kathie Giles chosen to serve as Fairview grand marshals

Ron and Kathie Giles are this year’s Grand Marshals for the Pioneer Day Celebration. Few couples have shaped the character and traditions of Fairview as deeply as Ron and Kathie, and few could be more fitting choices to lead this year’s celebration. 

“We feel it an opportunity, an honor, and a privilege to be Grand Marshals for the Fairview Pioneer Days,” the couple shared. 

Ron was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, and Kathie is a lifelong resident of Fairview. The two graduated together from North Sanpete High School in 1962 and were married in 1968, making their home in Fairview, a move Ron has always said brought him right back to a place he loved. They raised three children there: Tiffani (Matt), Patrick (Kelly), and Amy (Jason), and the family has since grown to include 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. 

Ron spent his career with Utah Power & Light, later Rocky Mountain Power, and served 22 years in the Utah Army National Guard before retiring. Kathie worked at Nielson’s Buy Way in Fairview for 13 years, then Far West Bank for 18 years, and Fairview Elementary School for 33 years, work she loved for the chance to be with children every day. 

Ron went on to serve Fairview for 16 years, 12 as a City Council member and 4 as Mayor, during which the city gained an upgraded water and sewer system, a new senior center and rodeo arena, and pioneer memorial monuments. Fittingly, his path into civic service began with the Demolition Derby: Kathie’s boss, Robert Nelson, approached her about going before the City Council for help getting the derby off the ground, a conversation that led Ron into decades of public service. 

Together, Ron and Kathie led the Fairview Pioneer Day Celebration for 13 years as General Chairs, growing it from two days to ten, and hosted the sourdough dinner many longtime residents still remember. They built the city’s parade float by hand for 23 years, and helped found Fairview’s first Demolition Derby, which calls its current arena home for 41 years. 

Kathie has directed her ward’s Christmas Eve program for nearly 40 years and received the Shining Star Award for the City of Fairview. She served 30 years on the Primary Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees board and continues to serve on its alumni committee. Ron and Kathie also served 15 years together as ordinance workers in the Manti Utah Temple, received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Snow College in 2000, and today serve together on the Fairview Museum Board, managing its gift shop. 

“We are honored to lead this year’s Pioneer Day Celebration as Grand Marshals,” Ron and Kathie Giles said.

Clancy Johnson is selected as 2026 Fairview Rodeo grand marshal

FAIRVIEW—Clancy Johnson is the 2026 Fairview City Rodeo Grand Marshal.

Johnson has lived his whole life in Fairview City. He has had brief stints of moving out of town for work, but he has always settled back home.

Johnson graduated from North Sanpete High School in 1969; he played on the state-winning basketball team, the football team and was a part of many other clubs. Johnson served in an engineering battalion for the National Guard while working most of his life as a contractor building high-voltage power lines.

While in the midst of these obligations, he discovered his true passion: horse racing. Johnson would buy young horses, raise them, breed them and race them all over the western United States. When asked if he was successful in this, he said, “my horses all paid their way… but I didn’t make much outside of that.” Johnson was in the racing and breeding field for over 40 years until he retired in 2015.

Johnson carries with him an attitude of optimism and a friendly nature.  When asked how he is doing, he always responds, “better than I deserve,” though it would be hard to find anyone who deserves much more than he does.

Johnson has three children: K.C., Shaylynn and Davey; through these children he has been blessed with two grandchildren.

Whether you know Johnson from his horse racing days, or just from riding his six-wheeled side-by-side around town, everyone would quickly claim him as an icon of Fairview. Johnson is a great man and an asset to the Fairview community. Fairview City would like to thank him for all he does and for being a part of the city’s Pioneer Days celebration, especially on the United States 250^th anniversary.

Fran Smith will lead out as grand marshal at Sterling Town’s Pioneer Days

STERLING—Fran Smith will serve as the Grand Marshal for Sterling’s Pioneer Day celebration.

Smith was born in Murray, Utah, to Henry and Elna Gorman. The first of two children, she grew up in Riverton, Utah. She attended Riverton Elementary School, West Jordan Junior High and Bingham High School.

She met the love of her life at a church-sponsored dance, whom she later dated and married. Smith and her husband spent 65 great years together and raised four children: Chris, Brenda, Raymond and Annie.  

Her children are all married now and gave Smith and her husband 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Smith cherishes all of her family, she unfortunately lost her late husband four years ago.

Smith says she lives in the best community on earth; her and her family have loved every minute of it. In her free time, Smith enjoys sewing, making quilts, gardening and traveling.