(The Dalles, Oregon) May 21, 2023 –
Although they may not know her name, everyone in The Dalles, if not the whole Gorge, knows Mary Davis.
Mary Davis has been the lead volunteer for The Dalles Floozies for 10 years, since the cruise ships first started docking at The Dalles in 2012. The Floozies are a fun, historic themed group formed to help promote the history of The Dalles for cruise passengers docked in town.
Mary, who also volunteered at The Fort Dalles museum, played a lead role in keeping this group going and keeping the colorful history of The Dalles fun and fresh to incoming visitors.
She is the original Floozie - dressed up in feathers and fishnets to greet visitors with a huge smile and a "hello there, sailor." Let's face it, history can be boring. But the Floozies truly make history come alive.
Every day a ship docks you will find a group of men and women dressed to the nines in flapper dresses and sheriff costumes welcoming every cruise ship passenger who steps off the boat. Guests respond with cheers and delight as the Floozies flirt with passengers, take photos, and pass out "applications" to join their "lucrative" trade *wink wink*. And while visitors explore town during the day, the Floozies usually get invited on board the ships to enjoy tea and cookies with the captains and crews.
In November 2022, Mary and her husband Dennis (who plays the role of Sherriff) officially retired from their volunteer gig with The Floozies and welcomed their last boat of visitors. All in all, Mary welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to The Dalles in her time as a volunteer Floozie. She couldn't be more deserving of recognition.
Travel Oregon awarded the Spirit Of Service to Mary Davis on April 5 at the 2023 Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Portland Oregon. We couldn’t be more proud to see Mary recognized for all she has done for our preservation of history, making sure our guests received the best greeting, and also volunteering at so many organizations while creating smiles for all.
Thank you Mary Davis for being the true Spirit of Service for The Dalles Area!
Please be sure to come to City Council Monday, May 22, to Thank Mary and see the City of The Dalles recognize her for this amazing and special award.
###
