Gigi Marunde highlighted the Jesse Marunde Memorial Invitational Strongman Contest with this special report for IronMind®:

"The annual Sequim Strongman Contest took place as part of the local Irrigation Festival as it has for the past four years, but was renamed the Jesse Marunde Invitational Strongman Contest."

It goes without saying how deeply Jesse was missed. "We were honored and comforted by the presence of some of the greatest strongman competitors of all time.  Phil Pfister, Magnus Samuelsson, Karl Gillingham, Dave Ostlund, and Odd Haugen joined west coast pros Grant Higa, Matt Parkes, Corey St. Clair, and Marshall White, as well as one amateur competitor from Sequim, Breck Gault, who was Jesse's training partner. Sarge Allen organized the contest along with Callie Marunde, who emceed with Kevin Nee.  Instead of a moment of silence, Callie told the crowd of 1,000, '...silence was not Jesse's style.  Please join me in a round of applause.'  Everyone rose in a standing ovation. The youth pastor from Jesse's church, who was a personal friend of his, offered a prayer of blessing over the event and for our family, a prayer that was answered when the small city of Sequim was rocked by what many said was an exhibition of a lifetime, an experience they will never forget.

"Phil Pfister brought the crowd to a roar when he pressed the 314-lb. axle and then the 342-lb. 'Man Log' for a new Sequim contest record. Phil was also the lone competitor to hoist Jesse's 464-lb. stone, but it wasn't enough to beat Marshall White for first place overall. Magnus came in third and Karl fourth."