Yesterday's 40th Birthday Bash Carnival is now in the books, over and consigned to history. It was, by all measures, a wonderful and highly successful event. The weather cooperated, there was no use of the first aid kit and none of the rented equipment was lost or broken. There was enough food and drink for everyone and very little waste.
It was incredibly gratifying to see so many people and families in attendance. This event was for you and you rewarded those who put it together with smiles, laughter and heapings of praise. Your attendance and enjoyment made it all worthwhile. Thank you to each and every one of you.
Here's a sampling of comments collected:
"had a great time at the B day event"
"pulled off the impossible"
"this is by far the biggest event this neighborhood has ever seen"
"it's what this neighborhood should always be"
"so great for families"
"so much fun" and "best ever".
The biggest by far, was "Thank you".
As President of the HOA and being a name known to many because I post all our communications, I was told "thank you" by practically every person I spoke with. You are very kind. I have passed your thanks on to the people behind this spectacular event. To be very honest with you all though, I had little to do with it, in fact, if you spoke with my wife, this event was successful, despite (and not because of) my attempts to help. :-)
I'd like you to know the team behind the event and the who the genuine recipients of your thanks and praise are. Without their vision, planning, designing, building, shopping, spraying, cutting, painting, gluing and time, effort and energy, this would have just been me in a parking lot. I'm pretty sure that would have been a lot less fun for all of us, right?
Fairway Springs homeowners, residents and Board, would therefore like to recognize, with enormous thanks to you, the following:
The social committee, down to two members, Nancy Stocks & Sherri Calkins, masterminded the whole thing, then assembled a crack squad who became the carnival planning gang; Jennifer Richter, Kim Pekarek, Kat Davison and Donna Orvis. Everyone of these people dedicated themselves, on the day and in the weeks prior, to making sure everything was just right and optimized for fun and safety. They gave so many hours, and by yesterday, probably a few gallons of sweat too. Boy oh boy, it was a hot one.
Games were designed and built, signs and boards painted and prepared over a series of weeks, helped by neighbors, friends and family of those above and then we came to the big day itself. It required setting up, manning stalls, keeping operations running smoothly, feeding and watering everyone, and making sure that we closed up, cleaned up, put things away and returned the parking lot and clubhouse to the way we found it, ready for a private rental at 9.30am this morning.
Dave Brawner waved a magical grill master's wand over the first, and hottest, of the grill sessions, receiving a "that guy sure knows his way around a grill, my burger was cooked to perfection" accolade. His wife Harriett ensured smooth running of the small games table. Cooking was taking over by Mike Pekarek and Joe Bernardo, both learning how to cook Beyond Burgers and bringing us over the finish line with just a few hot dogs left to be handed out to folks in the crowd. Both were an enormous help in cleaning up. Joe, thanks for the use of the generator and for fetching extra gas.
Melissa and Marc Mangino oversaw safety and enormous fun at, probably one of the busiest and most popular stations of the day, the dunk tank. It and by extension, they, were busy all day and always had a line of people waiting to dunk and/or be dunked.
Lori Amo, ran the water balloon contests. Tricia and Joe Staltare and family impressed with their new found cotton candy making skills, gratefully shift changing to Linda and Jeff Langheld.
Dorothea Bartlett, then Bob and Wendy Cesarek, made sure that sno-cones and popcorn flowed for snack lovers
Donna Orvis' and family kept the small games engaging and Tony Orvis, was especially helpful, all day at the dunk tank, a huge help, always smiling and never complaining.
Jennifer Richter, had a graphic designer friend blow up an image of our neighborhood, then manned a station where attendees placed hearts on their homes and signed a birthday message. It was a wonderful idea, well executed and such a conversation starter too.
If waiting line length, a la the dunk tank, was a measure of popularity then the face (leg, arm and body) painting station was a raving success. Busy from the start to the end, with so many people needed to keep up, Kim Pekarek, her whole family (including mom and sister) and their friends were exceptional.
Dan Bowers and his family pitched in with everything and anything that was needed during set up, running and clean up - you're a great bunch. Ryan Mitroka, our former Board everyman, proved again why he's so popular, during set up and clean up. He's a one man tour de force that we are lucky to have as a neighbor.
A big, special thanks goes out to our newest Board member, Carol Woods (Treasurer), who turned up early and did not stop until the event was over. She bussed, fetched, carried served, cut, covered, uncovered, topped up water and was always on the move, helping out. All day.
A big shout out of thanks to all of you who lent your pop up tents, the shade was very much appreciated. You're all very.
A final thanks is to you, our neighbors, who attended, supported, and thanked us. We hope you had fun, maybe made new friends and made memories of what a great place Fairway Springs is to call home.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED IN MAKING THE 40TH BIRTHDAY BASH CARNIVAL SUCH A GREAT SUCCESS. Happy Birthday Fairway Springs!
Comments