Thank Yous

A successful weekend like the one just completed requires a lot of hard work, a lot of good will and a lot of good luck. We fortunately had all three in spades.

Thank you to all the great volunteers who showed up on time, put on their t-shirts and smiles and worked so hard and so well in every area of the festival. Without you, this doesn't work, period. A volunteer thank you event is in the planning and we're collecting nominations from our committee chairs for The PJ Cullinan Volunteer of The Year Award. I wish you could all win it.

Thank you to all the sponsors who supported us with money, goods and services. You gave us the tools to put Irish Fest together. We hope you were pleased with results, and that you won't hesitate to let us know how we can improve.

Thank you to all our vendors who kept the masses fed, clothed, souvenired and gifted. I visited several of our food vendors for nourishment over the weekend and didn't have a bite that wasn't delicious. We hope you'll all be back with us in 2009.

Thank you to the ridiculously talented army of entertainers who strode our stages in 2008. As always, we staff-shirt-clad lackeys miss all but snippets of most of the performances while keep the engines humming, but what I saw was great and what and missed and heard about sounded incredible. Every musician and performer I had the good fortune to chat with was gracious, friendly and generous with their time and talents. Many will be with us again in 2009. We can't wait.

Huge and endless thank yous to those who made the trip, bought the tickets and filled the seats. Tens of thousands every day and not one serious incident is a testament to you. We're beyond grateful for your support, patience and enthusiasm. We do this for you and hope you'll let us know how we can do it better in the future.

Thank you to our hosts at Crown Center who provide us with such a magnificent home and stellar support. You know how when you left Irish Fest every night at 11:00 and it looked like a tornado had blown through and when you came back the next morning it was scrubbed, straightened and ready for another day? That was Crown Center. The level of support is beyond belief. We hope we're still there when we celebrate our 25th anniversary fest.

Thank you to the representatives of other Irish festivals who joined us this year. We were humbled and honored to host such a talented and experienced group. We hope you had fun and noticed all the ideas we've stolen from you all. We'll see you back in K.C. for the conference in April.

A personal thank you to my fellow board members and all of our amazing committee chairs. A harder working bunch of people I've never met. It's my great honor to be a member of such a team. Ed Scanlon and Ronan Collins, who leave the board this year, you'll be missed tremendously. Think of us poor laborers on the pavement when you're relaxing in the sponsor area next year enjoying your well deserved retirements.

Best fest ever. Another day or two of rest and I'll be ready to get back at it.