Mike in Louisiana showed up Sunday evening and began helping right off the bat with getting the driveway in order and setting up. He also did an excellent job with the ribs on Thursday as well as the root beer and pineapple upside down cake.
Bob McCarty was priceless with his work, once again, in getting the shop in usable condition. He got here Tuesday afternoon and went right to work. I will try to keep it straight for a couple of weeks and then get it straightened out well before next year's Bash so he has an easier time.
David Grapes, once again, came through with a huge donation from Kroger's. It takes a lot of bread, buns, cookies, chips, nuts, and other snacks to feed the army that hit the barnyard this weekend and David got it done. He was also a great help getting the hardware inventory together for me as well as working with Bob in getting the new compressor plumbed.
Thanks to Gary Dotson for his early arrival and help around the shop both before and during the event. He put on several demonstrations for many of you who wanted to learn and from what I saw, there were many paying attention to what he said and did. Guys like Gary are the best to have around.
There is a lot to be said for Rick Prentice. I am as thankful as can be that he brought the dyno out of semi-retirement. It is always a pleasure to see him testing the Cubs for attendees. What a lot of folks didn't see was the behind the scenes work he puts in to get the results. I watched him several times as he sat to calculate the results of each test. I think all that unseen figuring takes longer than the actual time on the dyno. I hope we get to see him and the dyno at more CubFests in the future.
The Ladies were probably the most important. They didn't just hang out in the kitchen. They all kicked in and helped Rosie make meatballs, hamburger patties, side dishes, deserts, as well as anything else needed to keep us fed. Without them we would have gone hungry.
All the guys that helped with the canopies, chairs, tables, etc were much appreciated. There were numerous folks jumping in to help on little things here and there to make me look good all weekend. I couldn't have gotten it all done without you.
And of course, we are grateful for everyone that came for the fun. Whether you brought something that needed fixed, came to help fix something, came to learn how to fix something, or just came to enjoy the fun, you were a big part of the success.
If I missed anyone I am truly sorry. You are all important to Rosie and I. Thank you all, and we hope to do it again next year.
