The Clackamas Spring Training Treasure (the second of four county hunts) was discovered late this afternoon by Andrew Buck. Andrew was born and raised here in Portland, and is a great lover of the city and the Rose Festival. Needless to say, his favorite festival event is the Treasure Hunt!
All during his interview he was friendly and laughing -- clearly a very warm person. He works with a team that includes his best friend Derek Wilson and Derek's girlfriend, Corrine Matlak. But while chatting, Andrew kept mentioning his mom, who is also a part of the team, offering support and advice from home. Anne Buck has gotten more and more engaged, according to her son, as the years have gone by.
The entire team takes the hunt very seriously, spending lots of time on research and discussion of solutions to the Clues. Andrew mentioned several times that he was glad the Clues were difficult. "It's supposed to be hard," he said emphatically. He knew there were those who felt that the Clues should be made easier to reason out, but he disagrees. He likes 'the excitement of each daily Clue' as it's revealed to the public.
Andrew started his interest in treasure hunting as a teenager. He remembers getting Clues from The Oregonian, back in the day. He left home right after high school and moved to California, where he got involved in television production. He and Derek worked on the television series "Grimm," which was shot here in Portland, from season one through season six (the full run of the show). Because he's always loved Portland, he's happy to be back home, living in inner Northeast. "The City is in my blood," he said.
Andrew's cousin, Elizabeth Larson, is a former Rose Festival queen. "I come from a very big family," he said. Even though he wasn't in town when she served as the Centennial Queen in 2007, he knew it was a very big deal. "It's a small world."
Andrew's team has been hunting in the field this year as many days as possible. He mentioned spending a couple of days in Oregon City before moving to Happy Valley today, where he found the prize.
Andrew and his team will be coming to the Rose Festival office to pick up some Winner's treats soon. He's looking forward to getting his Voodoo Dougnut gift certificate, and some other special surprises.