It's overcast and almost downright cold here in Quebec City. How are all of you in Wisconson doing? Tell us what is happening!!!
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
Hi Steve, I haven't heard anything from Tomohawk.
Where's the webcam in Quebec?
Posted by Barb Schilling (Member # 13) on :
Hi 'Heads,
We just walked in the door from Tomahawk! It was an awesome meet and Laurie and Andy Goretski did a great job of putting it all together so everyone could participate and learn and share. The weather cooperated wonderfully, if not just a tiny bit too warm on Thursday. But since we were at a park with a lake and beautiful swimming beach that posed no problem! Kids especially liked the beach!
Great projects for all hands: walls, 4 large multi panels, HDU dimensional with install at the fire station, trucks, etc.
Individual projects large and small: panels, glass, HDU, airbrush, Pinstriping, Poured resin finishes, dimensional stuff - MIND BOGGLING!
Suppliers: Midwest and Xpress Graphix, Mack Brushes, Coastal, Gemini, ST Mag and the Sign Museum, Butler's Art CD and printed t's, One Shot, plus the venders who sent stuff for use at the meet! Gosh, did I forget anyone?
We had a Magician, Bands every night, (including one playing tonight for those who just couldn't leave), Dennis Gerathy motivational talk, a tour of the Harley Davidson plant in Tomahawk where we saw wonderful secret things, (but I can't tell you about them 'cause then I'd have to k*ll you, The "gourmet grannies" serving up breakfasts and lunches, a pig roast and a meal at the country club, and lots of great camraderie!
I'm sure Laurie will be posting more details later. I think there were over 100 Letterheads, including lots of new 'heads at their first meet, and some who have been going to Letterheads since the 80'!
THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU LAURIE, ANDY, AND THE TOWN OF TOMAHAWK - You made our summer!
Posted by Colleen Henderson (Member # 906) on :
Wow! another awesome meet has come & gone. It was really tough to pull ourselves away to come home. Lots of wonderful new friends made & a great time visiting old friends again. Have to reiterate everything Barb said & also the wonderful relaxing pontoon boat ride that meandered thru the winding rivers and the beautiful view from our balconies where we watched waterskiers trick skiing & jumping. Many, many thanks to all involved, the Chamber of Commerce, suppliers, the many Letterheads who shared so freely & gave up their time to help us & most of all to Lauri, Andy & their families who gave up so much of their time to do this for us. Truly an awesome bunch of people. Now I can look forward to Mazeppa in February - bring on the hockey!
Posted by Kurt Gaber (Member # 256) on :
Had a great time! It was awesome to see the familiar faces of the "veterans" and also to renew friendships from the Brush Bash last year. More details to follow, but I've got to catch up on sleep for now!
Posted by Laurie Goretski (Member # 3821) on :
Thank you Barb and Colleen. I am so glad you enjoyed yourselves here in Tomahawk. Andy & I had a great time with everyone who attended. We do hope we had a chance to talk to everyone! I have a couple more things to add, but we are going on 14 hours of sleep since the four day exstravaganza began! We absouletly love that each and everyone who attended helped create the atmosphere of fun and creativity at its best. For those of you who had to leave prior to the band and dinner on Saturday, I feel it was the best night of the whole thing! The greatest thing was the auction for the Sign Museum in Rick Glawsons memory. The genorosity was outstanding! We raised $1,005.00. (Stewart from Scotland decided to up his donation $5.00 because it was easier to circle the amount on the donation form, rather than complete the section marked "other amount") Thank you Stewart!! Andy & I have made the decision to match that amount and give another $1,005.00 from the event funds. I beleive there should be enough to do this. So to all of the Letterheads who made this possible, THANK YOU!!! $2010.00 going to the museum for Rick Glawson!!! We returned home at 8:30pm tonight and will be going back to clean up more tomorrow! Thank you for all the kind good byes and we hope to see everyone again at Mazeppa!!
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
The weather was gorgeous. We yoopers see such a short summer, we never complain about heat or humidity. There was plenty of it in Tomahawk but everyone dealt with it just fine.
Andy & Laurie, my hat is off to you for hosting a great meet. I know the work involved must have been unimaginable, but you pulled it off in grand style.
I thank all the suppliers for coming to the meet their samples and all their help. And thanks to all the Letterheads that attended, helping me learn alot of new tricks and techniques. I hope that what I shared with you will benefit you as well.
We have a new Letterhead here at my shop. My employee Becky has been with me since December so this was her first meet. She helped letter the Harley Davidson brick mural and had a blast. She's hooked!
The projects again were just awesome. The murals, projects and panels were all just so beautiful, it's hard to describe. I also must mention the beautiful work Andy and Lurie have done. While driving around Tomahawk and seeing their work, their dedicationo to design and craftmanship was quite evident. Thanks again Laurie and Andy... great job.
[ August 24, 2003, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: Dave Sherby ]
Posted by mike meyer (Member # 542) on :
Wow! Myself, My son Caleb, Stewart, Avril, Brian, Scott, and Ashley all arrived back here in Mazeppa Sunday afternoon, safe and sound. We had a FANTASTIC TIME! Great Job Andy and Lauri! I was honored to be part of it! Thanks for allowing me to help!
We had one Boo Boo on the trip home, we had 2 vehicles and the vehicle Dennis drove got lost a bit in a wrong turn. They got Dennis to the airport fine, but his bag was with us here in Mazeppa! I will ship it out today! Sorry Dennis!
I think a big feature of this meet was the new faces and the young faces coming forth to paint and help! (Dr. Franko was a great addition to Letterheads as well!)
Thanks to everyone I met, I look forward to seeing you HERE in February 5-6-7 WINTER MUSTER!!!!
Posted by Matthew Rolli (Member # 4089) on :
WOW....
This meet was so fantastic, I have a hard time putting to words the great expierence I had. I was fortunate enough to have been involved with some of the planning. Man, oh man did Andy & Laurie work hard. The planning really paid off, as I heard so many positive thoughts from all of us that attended.
It was a unique time for me as I brought my wife, Katie, and 2.5 yr old Isaiah along. They had so many great times. Thank you to all that were so gracious and kind to my family. They now know a little more why I'm so excited about the sign life. Special thanks to those that kept an eye on Isaiah for us: Quinn, Kaylee, Lindsy, Caleb, Dan Flemming, Kelly...and you too Grizz,
You all made this so fun for the family. My son even got some painting in too. We both left with mutli-colored shoes!
The international friends we made was so great. Stewart, Scott, Ayvill, Ashley, Brian-Hats off to your talent!
A personal highlight was in talking with Kurt Gaber about common businnes challenges. Dennis comments kept us so inspired and laughing. THANKS.
Mike Meyer, you're a great mentor to us all, and the fact that you brought in Dr. Franko-Magician added so much to the meet. Thanks buddy!
As we headed back to Hudson, my son was sad and sad he wanted to go back to the "letter-meat" with his friends.
-me too.....
see you all soon. God Bless!
Posted by Craig Lewis (Member # 3271) on :
Wheewwwwwww....
What an experience, This was my first meet I've ever attended. My son Drew and I were in awe all week. What a great time.... GREAT job Laurie and Andy. Very memorable. I learned a ton!!!! and meet some great people.
Thanx to all for the good time.
Drew sez Hey to Mike Meyer, Griz, Dave "The Letterman and everyone he met..
Drew's already trying to figure out a way to make it to the "Winter Munster"
Thanx again
Craig & Drew
[ August 26, 2003, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Craig Lewis ]
Posted by Laurie Goretski (Member # 3821) on :
Well gang, I just checked out the numbers and there were 226 of us here in Tomahawk. Two hundred and twenty five paid up. Perhaps that check will show up in the mail. It did not seem to me that there were that many of us here, perhaps the size of the arena made a difference. As at every meet we go to, we were glad the Rendezvous brought pleanty of laughs, energy and relaxation to so many at one time. I just got done organizing clean-up trip one from the arena and trip two just arrived, so I will go thru that tomorrow. Trip three should be fairly small. I would like to thank all of the heads who stuck around to help the day after to clean up. Also, the vendors were a great help! As Barb mentioned, they were Midwest Screen and Sign, great guys, lots and lots of fun! They always give us heads so much support. Always there prior to the meet, helping plan and get materials you need to set up. Coastal Enterprizes, Kellie is a great asset to HDU. She is extremly knowlegable and Andy and I learned about Resin and the repair stuff we placed on the Tomahawk Community Bank's sign. (I am sorry, I don't know the name of the 'stuff', but I am sure to learn it in a great hurry!) One Shot paints, Frank and Darlene you are the best! The paints arrove here in seperate boxes, & I don't think there was one error. The project leaders and Panel Jam all received exactly what they wanted! Almost 400 pounds of paint and not one error. Signs of the Times, thank you for remembering Rick. I would say the auction was a success! And I know the Letterheads will step up to the plate and there will eventually be a museum because of all of your hard work and the genorosity of Letterheads! Mack Brushes-What a set up! Brushes galore. I am so happy you had gilding brushes. There was such a selection. Badger Air--Our son bought a new air brush and is itching to use it. Tony was so happy you were there too. Gemini, thank you for all the samples donated for projects and seminars. The Sara Park sign is readable now! I am sure the visitors will be happy and well directed. The attendees who used your product loved it. Biltrite, thank you for taking time to explain your products to so many people. (My mother thanks you for here puppy!)Sign Police, I love the shirts which were made up for the Rendezvous. They are so very cool, I hope everyone bought a couple. They looked great! Sepp Leaf, Art Essentials of New York, Esoteric and Letterhead Sign Supply, Sign Gold, Dremel, US Banner, Signs of the Times, Johnson Tool, N Glantz, Harley Davidson, and all of the aforementioned vendors, thank you, thank you, thank you for the materials in which you sent. It seemed the gold supplies were the hardest to get, price would say a bunch of why that is, so again thank you for sending what you could. I would also like to thank the person who made the Mens bathroom a bit more noticable, now that is a person of action! Bill Burgess for making the directionals. Bill came all the way from New Mexico and said he loves our air! To the couple who traveled from PA, thank you for the beautiful sign you made to leave with us. It already hangs in our shop. Hope to see you at more meets! Dick Boehr, thank you for the drink glasses, now I just need to find a good bottle of Scotch. (I hope I spelled it correctly) Letterheads now have an official Magician named Dr. Franco! He is the coolest. During the meet, we had almost one show a night on top of nightly bands and great food! The people from overseas, what a journey you must map out to make it to your destination. Thank you for attending. Scott, perhaps we will be able to make your wedding in May. I think that would be the greatest! Bill and Jane Diaz are off somewhere enjoying their extendened vacation for their 25th wedding anniversary! Congratulations guys! Tim Peterson, Griz, Rick Dolphins, Dave Correll, Barb Schilling, Maris Schilling, Bob Behounek, Dave Gilzvik, Curt Nelson, Matthew Rolli, Marv Renter, Jeremy Vecoli, Karl Reeder, David Butler, Stewart, Mike Meyer, Dave Sherby, Kurt Gaber, Lindsey Gaber, Kaylee (our daughter), Barry Shelton, Dave Jeffrey, and Kim Swisher, moms and dads, friends, thank you for all your hard work to make this meet a success. Andy & I owe you big time. I am sure I will be editing this post as I am sure there were some people I left out of this mushy post, but please know your help or gesture did not go unnoticed by us, we just can not remember everything at this time, as our lives get back to normal, we will remeber more and more each day, so please know we do thank you. Everyone who attendened this meet deserves a big pat on the back for all you did as well. Rick, I do hope your parking break did not act up again, but with Griz out of the picture, I think I can bet they did not! I hope everyone had a safe trip home, and hope to see you all very soon.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Andy & I have made the decision to match that amount and give another $1,005.00 from the event funds. I beleive there should be enough to do this. So to all of the Letterheads who made this possible, THANK YOU!!! $2010.00 going to the museum for Rick Glawson!!!![[Applause]](graemlins/clap.gif)
![[Thanks]](graemlins/thanks.gif)