After May Fair Message
I am delighted—and a bit relieved—to report that May Fair 2008 was another huge success. Set-up work during May Fair Week was rolling along smoothly—even ahead of schedule for the White Elephant team—when Friday stormed in with cold, blustery rain all day and night, but not dampening the Holy Smokers’ spirits as they cooked through the night. Prayers were answered as Saturday brought fresh air and bright sun for the 59th annual St. Mark’s May Fair and Strawberry Festival.
A wonderful time was enjoyed by all. The rides were fully active all day, the food court handled the mid-day crunch with aplomb, and good crowds showed up for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and the Magical Music for Life group in the courtyard. “
May Fair practically runs itself thanks to the experience and dedication of the 40 activity heads who cheerfully go about energizing their teams, setting up and running their area each year. Congratulations to our new activity heads this year: Jean-Pierre Lavielle and Ellie Carroll on May Fair Green, Melinda Fager on Strawberry Shortcake, Margo and Mark Thorsheim on Prize Tent, Ginny Ayers and Larry Bill on Coffee Café, Rick Pivirotto joining Addie Jones on Pizza, John Carroll joining Jon Fleming on Soda, Joan Brode and Catherine Hollstein on White Elephant-General, Kit Devereaux on White Elephant Pre-sale, Peter Daniel on Outdoor Tent, and Caroline Tucker on Outreach Table.
Special thanks are extended to the following volunteers: Joe Leo for picking up White Elephant donations all year and taking them to storage locations; Jonnie Wheeler for her year-round efforts in collecting and organizing thousands of books; Dick DePatie for being omnipresent and omni-helpful on everything; Dave Kreuger, Paul Reiss and Chris Gruseke for their extra effort this year on Holy Smoker; Jon Fleming for setting up the new Soda area and John Layng for running the garbage detail (“May Fair’s worst job”). In the White Elephant sale, we are grateful for the extra efforts of Catherine Hollstein, Joan Brode, Carole Buffett, Kate Adamson, Louise Goodridge, Sonsie Overlock, Ken Leonard, Ray Wheeler, Wendy Hilboldt, Kit Devereaux, Pat Donovan, Dave Hazard Paton Larkin, and the extra help in set-up and moving teams by Mark Thorsheim, Don Hudson, Rick and Mac Pivirotto, Jon and James Fleming, Brian Hollstein, Dave Kalal, Pat and Sean Donovan, and Chip Ressel.
I would be lost without the dedication and energy of Amy Carroll, Volunteer Coordinator, and Francie Thompson, Chair of the White Elephant Sale. Recruiting and organizing hundreds of volunteers is key to the success of May Fair. No one does that more effectively than Amy. She has the “can do” spirit of May Fair, creative, and always thinking of new ideas for May Fair. Francie’s White Elephant Sale is a huge undertaking. It’s a 12-month job, organizing pick-ups, finding storage locations, and organizing the sale. Francie is always improving things, tireless, with her eye on the overall success and the management skills necessary to get the job done.
My friends, your time and efforts on May Fair 2008 produced much joy for thousands of people and also raised a lot of money for St. Mark’s outreach programs. Gross revenue raised on May 10 was $203,632. The net amount will be determined after all the bills are paid and reconciled.
May Fair is community—the St. Mark’s community in action. Carole Buffett and I were talking about this during May Fair Week, and the next day she gave me a copy of the daily prayer meditation which cites St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminding us that a community is all about speaking truth to one another, “for we are all members of one another”. It poses the question, “The potential for love dwells within us—will we act on it?” The first ten days of May proved that love indeed dwells within the St. Mark’s community, and we acted on it, with great joy for all. This is who we are and what we do… not only at May Fair but year round.
Yours in Christ,
Bob Stephan
May Fair Chair
