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Wow! Fun weekend. (double checked the cap-lock) Trying to contain myself here. Thanks to everyone envolved. That pretty much covers it. ...Yea right. There aren't enough words are there? Those of you that have been to a meet know what I mean. Here ya go, "Thanks to everyone envolved." means,______________________________________. Yep, that says it all.
Here are a few before & after picks to start things going. My CF card filled up, so I don't have as many as others may have to share.
Thanks again everyone!
-------------------- Dave Parr Sign Painter USA Posts: 709 | From: USA | Registered: May 2003
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We just got home. Have some 200 pics and I am going to put them on the letterrip.org page shortly. I'll put up a new post as soon as I do. The original page will be torn down, and it will just be nothing but pics of the meet etc....later.....
-------------------- Dave Utter D-utterguy on chat Sign Designs Beardstown, Il. signdesigns@casscomm.com Posts: 777 | From: beardstown, illinois, usa | Registered: Mar 1999
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Dave- You sly fox- beat me to the punch... hey, I had a 10 hour drive- you only had a 40 MINUTEr! Besides, I had to post a help reply to someone else first.
Dave's right! What a RUSH- I've been home 1 hour (OK- you guys, 1st, I called my parents in Morton and said I got home OK, (for those in the dark- I was soooo close to my home(land) that my mother planned a huge family cookout that took me away from Sat. nights events.... but, that's another story), THEN, I hit Dave's post.
Bill and Jane Diaz were (are) the perfect hosts for this event. Being a "virgin" jammer, I found a brush in my hand 30 minutes after arriving- thanks, Bill! (Shoulder's still a little sore!).
The planners of this event were incredible- it seemed to go flawlessly- everyone flowed together, the seminars were mind threatening! and I'm so pumped for Mon. AM that I probably won't sleep.
My greatest thrill was meeting Pat King (to say the least- say no more... we're talking ICON here), Mark Adamany (OMG- please autogragh something for me (I forgot to ask)- you are destined for great things), Gary Anderson- you've seen it- believe it!, Jack- what a striper!, Dave Utter- artist class, James Mitchell- what a trip! (wait, I can't see), just to name a few................ do you people realize how much you're read and admired for your work? and how much you contribute and share with us novices?
It was a real jammer to meet face-to-face with people who's posts I studied before I even opened my business.... Thank you, ALL.
Bill and Jane- how 'bout next time we just let my mom and dad do a BBQ for the whole group- on site- that way I don't HAVE to leave at 5:30? Thanks and love to all..............
-------------------- Linda Schmidt Vital D'Signs Greers Ferry, AR signlady@ozarkisp.net Posts: 160 | From: Greers Ferry, AR | Registered: Sep 2001
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All I have to say is those of you who missed this one really missed a lot of fun! The band was GREAT! Letterhead Squares game was hilarious! I don't know how Bill and Jane pulled off the weather thing, but even that was beautiful for the whole weekend! We, as a family had a great time. Quinn rode his bike just about all weekend, and still had time to get to the panel jam to complete some panels. Kaylee dug right in and helped with work and also did panels on her own. Sometimes those working vacations are the best ones to have. To Bill, Jane and the rest of the crew mucho thanks! Hope you are all recouping!
-------------------- Lauri Goretski Custom Murals N6334 HWY 107 TOMAHAWK WI 54487 CustomMurals1@aol.com Posts: 127 | From: Tomahawk Wi | Registered: Apr 2003
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I still wonder how any work gets done with all that drinkin' and carryin' on going on. The town of Atlanta has about 1,200 people from what I heard - and can support four bars.
The coasters at Chubby's Bar & Grill tell the real story: "Atlanta, IL - A drinking community with a farming problem."
Pat King, thanks for the panel, sir. Much appreciated. Project leaders, outstanding job. Seminar instructors, sorry, didn't attend a one. But I did hear that Mayor McCheese personally spoke to Mark Adamany during his lecture. Bill Thomas of Atlanta, thank you and your town for taking such good care of us - and trusting us around your 'stuff' Hope we put everything back where it belonged. Central Illinois Letterheads Bill Diaz, Danny Kearfott, Dave Utter and Kevin Collins, thank you for the effort it takes to pull off a meet. You did right by us - just as you did in 1991. Kudos again. Mayor McCheese: My wife thanks you for the CubCadet 6-wheeler we used all weekend. It helped transport me home sometime early Sun. morning. And Mark Adamany thanks you also for your concern during his seminar!! And finally to the bartenders who took such great care of us while there I leave you one more tip: Don't go swimming until one hour after you eat.
Steve - I didn't get to say a proper goodbye yesterday. So, goodbye (with a hug attached).
I'm going to sleep on my desk now.
-------------------- Jay Allen ShawCraft Sign Co. Machesney Park, IL jallen222@aol.com http://www.shawcraft.com/
"The object of the superior man is truth." -Confucius Posts: 1285 | From: Machesney Park, IL, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Route 66 LetterRip rocked, weather was gorgeous here in Illinois. I know we were all sweating bullets last week with rain and 80 mile an hour winds, power out in northern Illinois for four days. Diazes really thought about everything. I have to say I finally got there (after a sad week in Ohio, as not to get to the meet on time) and there was plenty of talent and super projects almost finished to see. It was great to see Pat King, and meet friends old and new. A lot of pinstriping, panels and walls taking shape, almost near completion.
Route 66 was easy to find, just two roads and two hours from my house.It was 8 pm Saturday when I arrived with a camera to take some pics and at least meet with the Letterhead spirit. The town of Atlanta is a quaint but delightful town. Wow,if you like history, they have it.
Vaughn is the "town's" museum "keeper" and tour guide. What a colorful character! He is very knowledgeable and informative. Most of us toured an old bank which is now turned into a military museum, in which among tools and uniforms, also houses a glass case of literature beautifully preserved. The lettering was easy to read, not faded and paper barely yellowed!
The folks of Atlanta are also very proud of it's town clock (a Seth Thomas clock) dating back from 1909. The clock works were originally from the high school, and then brought over to the front of the historical library which is also home to another museum in the basement. The tower of stone they have resting the clock in has apparently withstood the elements of nature with fortitude and grace. It reminded me of Big Ben and I understand it keeps almost perfect time.
The townsfolk were all there, helping and observing, making sure that Letterheads and Letterville were appreciated and how much the letterhead efforts added to their lives and town. ( I told those that didn't know about the website). I'm glad they had a little bit of work saved for me on Dave Estes" wall, even though I came in at the tail end. Of course, I couldn't leave without getting a brush in my hand! more later, Deb
[ July 14, 2003, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: Deb Fowler ]
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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Thanks everybody for such a great meet! Thank you, my wonderful wife Jane! We're literally exhausted and just finished unpacking all our stuff. Forgive me if I did not get to visit with some of you. When you host a meet, after people start arriving it gets hectic and you become kind of a go-for. I did manage to help out with some of the projects. Because of the lower numbers that expected (around 85) I did a scaled down version of my project in advance so that we could complete all the other projects by Saturday. There was some tweeking on Sunday, but by the middle of the morning people were saying their goodbyes and there was a lot of huggin' goin' on.
There was a magical mixture of letterheads and townies at this meet. A good deal of our talented friends were present as well as some great rookies. It all started with that unbelievable weather. The Atlantonians are such special folks. They turned the town over to us and we bonded -- big time. The projects were fun, diverse and not overbearing. The seminars were great. The panel jam pinstripe area was rockin'. The jokes were flyin'. I gigled so hard during the Letterhead Squares game that I had to beg for a paper towell to dry my cryin' eyes. Who could forget James Mitchell standin' at the mike during our joke fest on Friday night, or Jodie Allen's reply to a question during Letterhead Squares. What was Bill Thomas' reply about Nancy Bennett? How about John Byrd? Man can that guy play guitar. How about Kevin Collins on guitar, Mark Adamany and Dan Kearfott on drums and the master crowd worker Herbie Estes on vocals. Wow!!!!!!!!! Who could forget Jay Allen zoomin' around town on the mayor's Cub Cadet. It was more fun than humanly possible.
On Saturday with all the RT 66 tour people comin' thru with their vintage cars and bikes and with Letterheads doin' their magic, it must have been an awesome site for the spectators. Could you image if you never had been around a letterhead and then all of a sudden you come on Jack Lindenberger and James Mitchell doin' their magic on Roger Anderson's truck. Or what if you had never seen a letterhead and you bumbed into Pat King or Shoots Elliott. MY my my!!!!
I'm proud of Gary Anderson and Mark Adamany and their accomplishments. Their seminars were great and what makes them great is they are salt of the earth people who are approachable and so sharing. Even Scott Hagan, who probably is the first rookie letterhead to give a seminar, turned it up for this meet. I know he's hooked and you can expect to see him and his wife at meets from here on out.
To me, folks like Steve, Herbie amd Sue Estes, Nancy and Dan Bennett, Don and Dora Hulsey to name a few are the reason you get all warm and fuzzy in life. So Dave Parr and Linda Schmidt, I welcome you into our letterhead family. To the Goretski's I would just say, I can't wait to get up to Tomahawk, Wi for your meet, because you are special people. Dave Parr thanks for the trick with the paint paddle and for the panel. Nancy Bennett, you cute woman, bless your heart for that acrylic piece. Deb Fowler I will get with you sometime soon, I hope. Special thanks to Mark and Jeanie Bennett and for their friendship, we aspire to you. Roger and Nick Manley we may come to see you later this summer after Tomahawk, you're great friends. Dave and Kay Utter, Dan Kearfott, Kevin Collins, Steve Connor and Bill and Chris Thomas -- I love you folks (tears flowin' now.) What a wonderful rich experience we just had. All you other folks that came, I love you too and thanks for making this meet one of the true classics will be talkin' about well into the future.
I'll end this by saying, when Jane and I were all packed and headin' out of Atlanta, we turned the corner and there was Pat King (bless his soul) with the paint brush in his hand, letterin' a window at Roger Anderson's gas station. He had his weiner dog Shorty nearby and there was a townie standin' behind him takin' it all in and the sun was bright and low in the sky. The Letterheads had been to town and Atlanta will never be the same.
Thanks again -- Bill
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2115 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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Hey Dave! Great to meet you....Thanks 4 b n there! Check out Kudos on the BB... herbie (David Estes)
-------------------- David Estes West Kentucky Outdoor Signs 8975 Hwy. 62 Calvert City, KY 42029 ffw2@hcis.net Posts: 15 | From: Possum Trot, KY | Registered: Jun 2003
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I just wanted to add my two cents! Bill covered most of it, but I wanted to add a couple things. One of the highlights for ME was to see my husband and both of my sons, Ben & Joe, up there on stage jamming together with the band! What an exciting thing to see all the talented musicians just walk up out of the crowd and jump in. David Estes, Glenn Avery and Dan Kearfott on vocals was a real treat! Vicki Avery and Gloria, you can "take care of business" on vocals too! Even Mark Adamany got a few choruses in there. The Art Gibson Band (with our son, Joe on bass) were the feature headliners and they started off to a small crowd because everyone wanted to use the remaining light to get the murals done, but when the sun went down, the crowd started to filter back and they rocked! (Can you tell I'm a proud mom )
Vendors, you were awesome. Neon & Fluorescent, with their booth and great guys, and all their additional help with panels and metal for Bill's mural were much appreciated by everyone. The One Shot people & Dorothy Stelk really came through too! Laminators, the panel jam people had LOTS of panels to choose from. Thank you! It was good to meet Lila and her husband from Rayco in Chicago and I want to thank them for their interest, support, catalogs and donations. Ameriban sent a BUNCH of banners & stuff for door prizes and we appreciated that too. I am sure there is someone I am forgetting, and I hope someone else from the committee can help me out here. Lastly, thank you to the PEOPLE! The Atlanta friends we made, the letterheads, the vendors, seminar & project leaders and the other committe members. You were ALL AWESOME! Thank you! Love you ALL! Jane
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2115 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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Got home last night save and sound from a GREAT weekend,with GREAT people,having a GREAT time! As I was telling the "Duckett" about it all, I came to realize exactly happens at an event such as this. I payed for things,and got paid for things I taught stuff,and I learned stuff I helped,and got help I made someone smile, and someone made me smile Enjoyed old friends, and made new friends
Thanks EVERYONE for EVERYTHING
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I just thought of someone else we forgot to thank....Pierre! You sent a banner for our meet, and to be truthful, I saw it hanging above the registration table but didn't know who did it. I thought one of the other committee members had done it. When we were packing things up on Sunday I came across the tube that you had sent it in and it made sense. Thank you SO MUCH! Dan Kearfott took it home for his wall. How did you do that? It was a neat banner. What process did you use? P.S. Hope you have a great meet! Sorry we can't make them both! Hope we run into you somewhere at another meet & THANKS again!
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2115 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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It was great to meet you as well, along with all of the others I met in Atlanta. That, to me, is the best part of a meet, visiting with friends, and meeting new friends to visit with at the next one.
Dora and I arrived home last night, after a little side trip through Ann Arbor, MI. I wish we had known we were going there before we left. Maybe we could have checked out some shops in that area.
As everyone has said, Thanks to all involved in organizing and orchestrating this meet. We had a blast, and are looking forward to doing it again.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2318 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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I finally mde it back to the shop around noon Monday (had to include a coupla minor excursions on the way back) & have been playing catch-up ever since. I guess it's nice to be missed even though I really don't do much around here.
I had such a good time in Atlanta last year that I was sure that if I enjoyed this years meet half as much I'd still be plumb tickled to be in town again. After all, it'd be almost impossible to match last years fun......right?? WRONG!!!! It was even MORE fun!! (even though I wasn't as productive as last year......too many distractions this time)
I'll post more later but for now I just wanted to let ya'll know that I made it back OK & wanted to say THANKS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to Bill & Jane and the entire crew that worked so hard to make this meet happen!! Thanks also to Mark Adamany & Gary Anderson for their workshops and Steve Estes for letting me slide on working on his mural so I could attend.
Special thanks also to the fine folks of Atlanta (especially Bill & Chris Thomas, Mayor McCheese, Vaughn Craft, Richard Applegate, Buster Dyer, and last but not least...Officer Brad) for being such gracious hosts!!
I really enjoyed seeing a bunch of old friends & meeting new ones!! Even though it was his 1st meet I kinda got the idea that Dave Parr might be enjoying himself so I snapped this shot. Whatcha think??
-------------------- Chris Elliott 1longshot@classicnet.net cell 62084two2232 Posts: 686 | From: Scottsdale, AZ & Anthony, KS, USA | Registered: Dec 1999
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So glad you made it back safe and sound. It was swell that you made it to this meet since you just got back from helping in Sterling with Dan S.
You are such a great letterhead with spirit, hats off to you, a hard worker, traveling so far...I have to tell you Chris was the hit of the show with all the gals, commenting about those cool boots and neat western accent. He's a good artist and friend to all...jus had to put that in! Now I guess Chris, you're headed up to the Tomahawk meet and Pierre's. Hooray for you!
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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Thanks Chris, I appreciate that, ...ol buddy. I guess you're lucky I was worried about filling the CF card, huh? ...Yep, the expression on your face, as you wobbled down the sidewalk, after waking from your three hour nap Sunday morning was certainly a "Photographic Moment" missed, eh?
You're quite right though, I did enjoy the weekend. I enjoyed it so much that reading through these posts makes it rather difficult to keep my feet on the ground. It all comes rushing back. I was there the entire time, except the evenings due to commuting back and forth from Peoria, yet I missed so much of the meet that I wish the whole thing (every facet) were available on video. I didn't make it to one single seminar and I wanted to see them all; although, I did pick up a few tips buy catching a bit of Jack Lindenberger's striping, that man's talented. Which brings me to one of my problems. There was so much to learn, so much talent & expertise on hand, the whole experience was Information Overload for three days straight. Everyone I met and worked with was enjoying the experience. I enjoyed working with Dan Sawatzky a few weeks ago in Sterling, IL., and then the fabulous weekend in Atlanta. Na, ...my feet are never going to touch the ground again. Thanks to everyone going all the way back to the "Original Seven." How could the Letterheads movement have developed into what it is today without them? I want everyone to feel included here; I just don't want to have to type all of your names.
Yes, I did enjoy the entire experience. Thanks for making me feel welcome.
P.S. III'mmmm Hooked!
(edited, ...Duh, Seven, my apologies!)
[ September 23, 2003, 09:00 PM: Message edited by: dave parr ]
-------------------- Dave Parr Sign Painter USA Posts: 709 | From: USA | Registered: May 2003
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