Nurse Nanna: It's time to put this one to bed. I did not realize until recently that I had not done so. Whoops.
I have a lot of folks to thank for help with this.
First of all, the staff at Somerset Beach Campground.
The list is too long to write here..but let me say that without the generosity of the camp, I would not have been able to do this event at all.
I was really excited to show off this beautiful place to all of you and this was about as perfect an opportunity as I could have ever dreamed.
The world's best Maintenance crew spent untold hours cleaning up snow, clearing paths, plowing the ice on the lake and around the Cedar Center. They put out the welcome sign greeting all of you as you entered the world of snowy enchantment. They provided firewood, and had the building warm and ready for us early that morning. Our comfort was provided for in many ways by these hard workers with a heart as big as our lake....no...bigger!
The scheduling was difficult with all that goes on around here and without the help there, I might never have been able to do this at all. Initially this was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon, which eliminated a fair amount of folks, so the change, though it hurt a few, added a lot of families that would otherwise missed it. I'll do that differently next time in the hopes of giving a better chance to more of you. Thank you for the understanding as I learned about hosting something of this size.
My Olympic committee members gave their all and provided a huge amount of help along the way, South Lyon Trekker, our Master of Ceremonies and Official Torch Bearer. What many do not know is that he also came up with the "log" idea....the one item I had forgotten to bring along...so we had a real "log". This may be the first real log ever. At least I hope so. It will be prominently displayed for all to see this summer at my site at camp. (but nowhere near the campfire!) SLT also kept up the stats and judging, along with another important committee member, the illustrious LadyBee4T. Without her I would not have kept my head above water. She was a great sounding board and helped immensely with all the prep work the fun and the pics today. I have a best friend in her and am one very blessed cacher. She came today and helped out despite being quite exhausted with a bad cold. We wrapped her in scarves and cuddled her close...and she survived her day at the high mountain top event.
Geoaddict gave me huge amounts of support and ideas along the way and sacrificed himself to the sledding hill, along with Allenite. See their adventures in my log.
Most folks did not know that the kitchen was completely torn apart with some work being done, so just hours before your arrival, the staff came in and moved the entire kitchen out of our way and back into a different spot. If anyone deserves accolades here, these folks are saints of the first order with a servants heart.
The program staff taught me how to do the Olympic music and brought me a whole ipod full so that we had sound fitting our plans. Every detail cared for and attended to with loving effort. I am deeply humbled and appreciative.
I know that I will forget someone here...and for that I apologize. If you let me know...I'll edit this and include you! Time has wiped out my memory!
And for all that attended and participated with such exuberance from as near as a mile away, and from as far away as Indiana and the far western reaches of the state, I thank you. You made this the fun event that it turned out to be. I was just the facilitator..you were the party!
Please come back and visit the camp during another season and see its amazing beauty year round!
Nurse Nanna, looking forward to the Summer Olympics....are you ready?