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We know many of you have comments, questions, and concerns regarding the cancellation of the Fall Festival. We hope the following provides you with the answers and/or addresses your concerns.
Why was the Fall Festival canceled?
Our Chairperson, Kerry Endorff, received a phone call from Mr. Paradise, owner of the Renaissance Grounds, saying that the October 31st date needed to be canceled due to the amount of snow we were expected to receive.
Don’t we normally have a back-up date?
No. The Fall Festival has always been a rain or shine event. The reason why we do this is because it's such a tremendous amount of work and co-ordination; it's extremely hard to pull off on a second date. Many years ago, the event was snowed out and it was never rescheduled. We've been fortunate to not have had that problem again until this year.
But you did reschedule and then canceled again. Why?
Last Wednesday, after talking it over, the PTO Board and the Chairperson, Kerry, decided we could pull off a Nov. 7th reschedule date even though we would lose the 70 cadet volunteers we had coming. We were proceeding with this plan until Kerry received another phone call from Mr. Paradise on Monday saying that because the snow wasn't melting, he feared driving up there during the week, as well as on Saturday, would tear up the grounds. Mr. Paradise also feared freezing temperatures and has had the water turned off to the grounds for the year. We needed water for cleaning, restrooms, and the operation of the kitchen. He told Kerry we would be unable to use the Renaissance grounds after all, and we fully understood and supported his decision. It wasn't a matter of him changing his mind, but rather trying to avoid the potential damage to his property that the vehicles would cause.
The Renaissance Grounds parking lot looks fine. Why the concern?
Even though the front parking area has been melting off, the upper area is still rather deep with snow as it's both in the trees, as well as being on the north side of Spruce Mountain.
Why not just hold it at the school?
Unfortunately, all of our decorations and the majority of our games are at the Renaissance grounds and we won't have access to them until the snow melts and the grounds have hardened sufficiently for us to drive on. We'll be notified by the grounds manager when we can proceed, but it won't be in time to prepare for a Saturday date. We are open to this option in the future and look forward to exploring it further.
Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?
A cursory announcement was made Monday at school as soon as we found out about the cancellation. We took time to regroup and be in a position to share all of the information in a cohesive way instead of bits and pieces as we were figuring out what to do.
What about the money that has been collected?
While we truly appreciate the overwhelming response to either donate the money to PTO, or keep the wristbands for the spring event, legally, the PTO can not retain the money from a canceled event.
You will be receiving reimbursement on, or before, November 20, 2009. Specifically, if your check was cashed, you will be receiving a reimbursement check from the PTO. If your check was not cashed, you will be receiving your voided check. If you do not receive your reimbursement by November 20, please contact Jackie Ranisate @ 303-681- 2273.
We are asking the all wristbands be returned so they can be used in the future. There will be a box in the main office for the wristbands. Please return them with your child or drop them off at the school.
The PTO Board would like to acknowledge the energy, enthusiasm, hard work and long hours put in by all of our volunteers. But no one has worked harder and more diligently than our Fall Festival Chair, Kerry Endorff. Kerry jumped in when it looked as if we weren’t going to have a Chair and took over the organization, planning and general over site of all of the individual committees. There were times when things got incredibly challenging and Kerry faced them with determination and unflagging humor.
We know that the kids were devastated when we had to cancel, but please remember the disappointment our volunteers faced with not being able to see the fruits of their labor. To all of our volunteers, we thank you and appreciate everything you did. To Kerry, a thank you just isn’t enough.
Sincerely,
Lisa, Katey, Jeanette, Jennifer and Dani
LES PTO Board |
