Taste of the Nation Volunteers - THANK YOU!

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From:

Ed Draper (edraper)

THANK YOU!

What more can we say? Actually….a bit more. You rock! As volunteers you have a reason to be proud. On Wednesday June 24^th your help with the Taste of the Nation event made this night the best we have ever had. We raised over $115,000 that will go directly to local groups that ensure that no kid goes hungry.

Putting this event on was no small task. With over 1000 people under the tent, 50+ restaurants, wine, beer & spirit companies and a rockin’ band it was important to have a dedicated group of volunteers to help set up starting early in the morning (8 AM), to work the many different position during the event and to finally help break down and close up the event late into the evening (Midnight!).

We are proud of the hard work that each and every one of you put in that day. Your efforts did not go unnoticed…the feedback we have received all rave about how smooth the event went and how well run it was… a testament to you hard work.

We do appreciate the effort that all of the volunteers put in. Some folks deserve an extra pat on the back.

Recycling Pods – Our volunteers were particularly challenged this year. Our goal was to have a “zero trash” event but that was not the case. They had to work extra hard to keep the compostable items, non compostable items, and reusable trays all going in the correct bins. This is an area that we are reviewing and making changes to for the event next year.

Break Down & Clean Up – Their task was to leave the tent and grounds in the same condition that we started with at the beginning of the day. Lots of tables, chairs, lines, trash, recyclables, signs etc to be broken down and readied to be taken away. It is quite a bit of work, especially at the end of the evening when it would be more desirable to just go home. In addition to this they started their shift out doing gate duty, recycling pods, bussing, front entrance etc.

Pictures of the event can be found on our Share Our Strength Seacoast Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/mwcmak . Don’t have Facebook? Now is the time to sign up!

Ending the way we began….THANK YOU for a successful Taste of the Nation event. We are going to take a bit of a much needed rest but will be back at it again next year. Be on the lookout for emails when we out the call out for volunteers once again.

Thanks!

Ed & Karen