Saturday's Fall Fair was a great success, thanks to the hundreds of parents, students, faculty and staff who volunteered their time and talents to make this community event a fun experience for all. This annual event, which again attracted hundreds of visitors--including more than 100 Burgundy alumni!--showcases our incredible campus and community. The Fair is a great expression of what makes Burgundy special and even unique, and it's a great opportunity to support student financial aid. It takes many hands to help it all come together, and it would be impossible for me to thank each of them by name in this column, but I'd like to give special recognition to a few below.

Jeff with the Walker family at the Fall Fair.

Fall Fair Chair Maria Gilroy and Special Events Coordinator Allison Niedbala worked to orchestrate the many details involved and make sure the key volunteer positions are filled. We also had event chairs, who organized and implemented specific events:

• Alumni Reconnection: Michele McCabe

• Artisan Mart: Kelley Sullivan

• Bake Sale: Audrey Dreibelbis

• Barnyard Visits: Molly Buck Jones

• Burgundy Mart: Azeb Idris

• Entertainment: Paul Miller and Cathy Manley

• Face Painting: Charis Calhoon and Melissa Koval

• Food Tent: Nancy and Neil Weissman

• Funnel Cakes: Minh Vu

• Games: Paxton Helms and Beth King

• Haunted House: Tara Casagrande

• Kid's Closet: Wes Callender, with help from chair emeritus Jackie Norris  

• Lemonade Stand: Mary and Chris Sexton

• Moon Bounce: Missy Murrell and Mike Calhoon

• Pumpkin Painting: Lori Adams and Cathy Guertin

• Used Book Sale: Jane Hanson and Jan Foster

• Volunteer Coordinator: Laura Davis

• Pesto Sales and Guess the Weight of the Cove Pumpkin: Vini Schoene

The following parents acted as Fall Fair Coordinators, recruiting parent volunteers needed from each class:

• Junior Kindergarten: Tracey Coates

• Kindergarten: Damon Hildebrand and Amanda Cumti

• 1st Grade: Jenna Song and Andrea McNicholas

• 2/3 Classes: Nicole Pagett and Aaron and Ama Adams

• 4/5 Classes: Sarah Riseman and Jane Marcus

• 6th Grade: Kelley Sullivan

• 7th Grade: Alana Holmes

• 8th Grade: Jamie Netherland

Beyond volunteering, the following members of our community secured support from their businesses, helping us to raise even more money for financial aid:

• Dave Evans, alumni parent and owner of La Prima Catering, who brought his signature chili to the Food Tent for the 24th year

• Parent Tara Lloyd, who again secured advertisements for the Fair in four of the Connection Newspapers

• Parent Stephanie Babin, who donated cupcakes from Buzz Bakery to the Bake Sale

• Alumni Margaret Evans Brown '02 and Kevin Brown '01, owners of Groundworks Farm, for donating a produce bag of fall vegetables for the alumni raffle. The bag, which also contained a $50 MasterCard gift card (provided by the Advancement Office), was won by Charlotte Sackett '09.

Also deserving of very special thanks are the members of our Maintenance Team: Larry Inguagiato, Russell Boone, Gene Douglas, and Jerry Vaughan; our Advancement Team: Jen Pusatere, Michele McCabe, and Meghan Williams; and our Business Office Team: Kathy Miller, Kim Britton, and Jamie Dorrier. These teams put in many hours in the weeks leading up to and following the event, working in tandem to attend to some of the most important and behind-the-scenes details.  

I am leaving out literally hundreds of names of people to whom I am incredibly grateful for their support. To everyone who was involved in the Fall Fair, please know that I appreciate your help and dedication! You, all who volunteered, embody the spirit of Burgundy, and I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did!