Dennis and Karen Fenn named grand marshals for Union County parade

Union County Farm Bureau has chosen Dennis and Karen Fenn of Fenn’s Towing and Repair in Island City to serve as grand marshals for the 2026 Ag & Timber Parade, putting a familiar service family at the front of one of the county’s most visible civic traditions.

The parade is set for Friday, May 15, at 6 p.m., with lineup beginning at 5 p.m. The route will stage on South D Street in Island City, travel north to Island Avenue, turn east to McAlister Road and then head south. The city says the event is meant to celebrate Union County’s agriculture and timber industries, and the Farm Bureau’s choice of the Fenns underscores how much of that economy depends on work that rarely happens in the spotlight.

For more than a quarter-century, Dennis and Karen Fenn have run a towing and recovery business that is closely tied to the county’s travel corridors and harsh-weather realities. Their crews have responded on Cabbage Hill, Ladd Canyon and backroads across Union County, where breakdowns, traffic crashes and heavy-vehicle recoveries can turn into urgent problems fast. Fenn’s Towing and Repair says it offers emergency towing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and says its operators bring more than 50 years of combined heavy-duty towing experience.

Public Oregon business records show Fenn’s Towing & Repair LLC was filed on Oct. 10, 1997, giving a concrete marker to the family’s long run in Eastern Oregon. That longevity is part of why the grand marshal honor fits the parade’s theme so closely: the Fenns’ work reflects the blend of transportation, equipment, labor and local know-how that keeps rural communities functioning when roads, weather and machinery do not cooperate.

The couple’s community footprint extends beyond the roadside. The Fenns have supported youth sports and community events, and they have donated equipment to La Grande High School’s manufacturing program. That mix of service and sponsorship has made them recognizable names well beyond the towing yard, and it is one reason local organizers viewed them as emblematic of the county’s ag-and-timber backbone.

The parade will proceed through Island City with floats, tractors and tough rigs expected to join the line of march. For Union County, the tribute to the Fenns is more than a ceremonial nod. It is a public salute to the people who keep the county moving when the road gets steep, the weather turns rough and help has to arrive anyway.