Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Opportunity knocks, Candace Carrie answers

Opportunity knocked and Candace Carrie answered.

Carrie, who has been with the Nevada County Extension Service for seven years, got the opportunity to go back home and decided to accept it. She took a similar position with the Extension Service in Camden, where she's from.

A farewell reception was held for Carrie, thanking her for all she's done for Nevada County over the past seven years.

Rex Dollar, also with the Nevada County Extension Service, acted as Master of Ceremonies, and thanked everyone for helping get the reception together. He told Carrie he appreciates everything she's done and the way she helped him.

"We appreciate all you've done for the county," Dollar said, "you were good to work with, and always followed through on what you said you'd do.

"It's been a good seven years," she said. "We all have opportunities we have to take advantage of and this is one of those. Rex will take over and do a wonderful job, and Camden's right next door."

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown talked about how Carrie worked for the county as well as the city, saying he appreciates all she's done. "We'll miss her," he said, "but I don't blame her for going. We were fortunate to have her here. She'll be hard to replace."

Next up was Janet McAdams, who worked closely with Carrie on the Prescott-Nevada County Library project. McAdams said Carrie went over and above the call of duty as secretary of the library board.

"I appreciate Candace being secretary when we built the new library," McAdams said. "This is the first library built specifically for Nevada County (other libraries have been in existing buildings). She handled the correspondence and helped with the fund raising. She will be missed much."

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor agreed Carrie will be missed and hard to replace because of the hard work she did not only for the Extension Service, but for the city and county as well.

"She was a great asset and always supported us," Taylor said, and presented her with a key to the city.

Kay Hendrix, president of the Prescott-Nevada County Health Alliance, said Carrie is a treasure and will be missed. "We couldn't have done what we did without you. You were always there when we needed you."

Joe Graham, president of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, thanked Carrie for all her hard work, especially for being chairman of the annual Chicken and Egg Festival cooking contest. "You will be missed by the community," he said.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said Carrie was on the first Leadership Nevada County board. "You were there from the beginning.

Judy Duke spoke on behalf of the Nevada County Fair Board, saying Carrie brought the fair out of the dark ages and into the 21st century.

"We've worked with her for seven long years," Duke said. "It's been fun and we'll miss you. People don't realize it, but fair's don't just happen."

A sister in reading, is how Librarian Joyce Gibson described Carrie. "You've been a shoulder to cry on, an advisor, friend and confidant," she said. "She has a great love of books and will bug the library in Camden."

"She'll get your blood," said Curtis Lee Johnson, a member of the Nevada County Quorum Court and blood donor. "I've been giving blood a long time, but I get a letter every 56 days reminding me. And if I'm late getting there my phone rings."

Peggy Lloyd, curator of the Nevada County Depot Museum, said Carrie has been her antebellum quilt top advisor, as well as being on the museum board. "I thank her for her interest in the museum."

Fourth Congressional District Congressman Mike Ross was an unexpected arrival at the reception and made a few impromptu remarks. "You've become part of the community," he told Carrie, "and you'll be in our thoughts. Thank you for all you've done for us. We'll still see you a lot."

Carrie responded saying the reason for the success all the organizations in the county have has been because of teamwork. "You have all been willing to go that extra mile," she said. "You accomplished a lot."

The library, she continued, is important for the entire county, not just Prescott.

When asked about memories of the past seven years that stand out, she said there's been so much it doesn't seem possible.

"It's a nice thing," she said, "to have reached this point where things are going right. It's time to move on and Nevada County will do well."