Memorial Day Weekend - An Oregon Heritage Tradition Since 1939
Les Cohen named Grand Marshal of 2025 Azalea Festival!
Long time local community member Les Cohen has been selected as the 2025 Azalea Festival Grand Marshal. Les and his wife, Liz, have been Brookings residents since 1988, moving here from Sun Valley, Idaho with their three sons Jason, David and Sam.
Les is a well-known member of the Brookings-Harbor Community. He is active in the local Rotary Club and has played a huge role in that organization over his many years and the many events they have organized and hosted.
Since 1993 Les has served as president of the Brookings Area Council for the Arts and the American Music Festival, which coordinates the yearly free summer music concerts in Azalea Park.
He is the retired CEO of the Brookings-Harbor Chamber of Commerce, having held that position for over 21 years, during which time he helped promote Brookings-Harbor and the Southern Oregon Coast as a destination for tourism. He oversaw the coordination of the Azalea Festival for all those years.
As CEO of the Chamber he helped facilitate the America’s Wild Rivers Coast branding of Curry and Del Norte Counties with other area Chamber, government and business leaders. He served on the Board of Directors of the Wild Rivers Coast Marketing Consortium until his retirement.
Les is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management. He has served as a Board Member of the Southern Oregon Visitors Association as well as the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, of which he served a term as President. He also served 6 years as a member of the South Coast Leadership Council of the Oregon Community Foundation, helping direct tens of thousands of grant funding dollars to area cultural projects.
We would like to thank Les for all of his hard work and acknowledge his contributions to our community.
NEWS MEDIA: For further information please contact 541-469-1102.