Published: April 15, 2008 11:38 am            

McCrearyFest: ‘Lifting the Bar’

Dear Editor:

As President of the McCrearyFest Board of Directors, I want to express just how honored we are to have been named McCreary County's Best Festival by the readers of the McCreary County Record.

Keeping that distinction in mind, McCrearyFest will strive to continue to lift the bar to newer heights year after year. We appreciate your recognizing our dedication to this community, realizing that we not only provide a week of entertainment, but by inviting visitors and boosting tourism in the county, we boost the local economy. Without question, it is a civic game of "Pay it Forward."

By supporting McCrearyFest, McCreary County supports herself. We thank you for that! For nearly 30 years, producing our festival has been, in many ways, a community endeavor, and we would be remiss not to acknowledge those whose 2008 support has helped us reach that zenith, both the distinction of being named McCreary County's finest, but also our recognition as McCreary County's oldest annually held festival.

It is important that we express our appreciation to all who made the Old Kentucky Luncheon, benefiting McCrearyFest 2008, a marvelous success. The food, the guests, and the atmosphere of the event was wonderful, and certainly stayed true to our luncheon theme of "Old Kentucky." We certainly enjoyed the company, and we hope all who took part feel the same.

For their generous donations, we would especially like to express our thanks to:

• Michele Wilson and Huddle House,

• Tanya Bryant and Burger King,

• Sandra Cundiff and Kroger-U Save,

• Milton Morrow and Milton's Burger Hut,

• Chris Carter and the Dairy Bar, and

• Mrs Wilma Waters

Without their support this benefit event could not have happened. For recognizing our non-profit status with their generosity in advertising, we would like to thank:

• MBR-TV, Channel 2 in Whitley City,

• the McCreary County Record, and

• all the local businesses who allowed us to advertise freely in their places of employment.

And we would be negligent not to express our gratitude to the McCreary County Public Library and its staff for hosting the event. As always, McCreary County, our success is your success, and we appreciate your continued support! We thank you for stopping by!

On Friday, March 7, 2008, Miss McCrearyFest 2007 was a guest of Alyce Grover's Basic Public Speaking class at Somerset Community College's

McCreary Center. DeYanna did a wonderful job representing herself and our festival. We certainly want to express our appreciation to the faculty and staff of the college, and particularly Ms. Grover and her students for welcoming DeYanna into their classroom, and for all the pointers and tips as she prepares to represent McCreary County at the 2008 Miss Kentucky Teen United States pageant this weekend in Covington.

A special acknowledgement, too, should go out to the media representatives who covered this appearance, and to Little Lamb's Daycare who also hosted DeYanna in March. Thank you! Our gratitude as well to Julie Sumner for her time, and to Mrs. Marie Gilreath, who graciously invited DeYanna and McCrearyFest to take part in the 2008 McCreary Springtime Pageant that took place on Saturday, April 5th. We seek not only to be a respected community event, but to be a community benefactor, and were honoured to support Relay for Life.

Thank you, as well, to the McCreary Central "Teen Style" club for playing host to me, and to Mrs. Stacey Musgrove for the invitation to address the McCreary Central Cheerleading Squad. We appreciate your support!

Lastly, as we continue to seek to provide subsidy for McCrearyFest 2008, and many businesses should have, by now, received packages from the Board of Directors explaining our newly adopted sponsorship guidelines and policy of recognition, we would like to recognize our first 2008 Platinum Sponsor, the Bank of McCreary County. For questions on how your business can become a McCrearyFest sponsor, visit

our newly renovated website at www.mccrearyfest.com

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Shane Gilreath

President, McCrearyFest Board of Directors

        

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