Editor:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank all of the volunteers, who made the 58th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival in Fairhope, a resounding success.

Our festival committee Chairpersons Diane Herzog and Clara Smith did a fantastic job! The volunteers that work on this festival are many, but I would like to thank the rest of the committee by name: Elizabeth Stone, Lee Teumer, Barbara Haas, Lee Rivenbark, Verna Johnson, Jackie and Larry Pate, Jessica Zdyb, Susan Pearce, Mel and Bobby Armstrong, Elaine Diehl, Ricky Lewis, Sabrina Sheppard, Ken Cooper, Randy Lee, Linda Scott, Louie and Barbara Blaze, Brian Snider, Diane Douglas, Jim Horner, Jennifer Fidler, Kenny Graves, Jaca and Mac McLaren, Fran Slade, Jude Mansur, Alodia Wimpee, Pam Rhea, Mary and Harry Gregg, Debbie Floyd, Beverly Bradford, Charlotte Rivenbark, Donna Holmes, Margaret Boyd, Janis Gilmore, Kathy Chaffin, Laura English, Sandra Lee, Cheryl Smith-Lloyd, Juliene Wallace and Amy Williams. The hours and love that our committee devotes to this festival is overwhelming.

The best compliment the Chamber can receive, besides comments on our Southern hospitality, is that the festival has benefited the businesses in the area. Even with a cold Sunday, we had the best Friday and Saturday attendance in many years! With a count of over 265,000 visitors and residents this year, the revenue that flowed into the economy not only through taxes paid, but through hotel reservations, meals, items bought in the stores and even through wages paid to employees, was impressive.

We also would like to thank our sponsors because without them we could not create an event of this magnitude: Buffalo Rock Pepsi, Regions Bank Fairhope branch; Verizon Cellular Sales, New Horizons Credit Union, Hampton Inn Fairhope, O’Sullivan & Creel LLP, TAG/The Architects Group, Volkert & Associates, Grand Hotel Marriott, Eastern Shore Healthcare, Montrose Bay Health & Rehab, Pen Air Federal Credit Union, Riviera Utilities, Vision Bank, Walmart-Fairhope, Travel Host Lower Alabama, Grand Band, Seger Aero Corp. and our Media Sponsors: Mediacom, AL.com, 95 KSJ, LiteMix 99.9, and WABF. Special thanks as well to the Mobile Press Register, the Baldwin Register and the Gulf Coast Newspapers for all their support. There are over 100 local businesses and individuals who contributed services, time, materials and much more to make this festival a success. The board would like to offer them a heartfelt thank you as well.

This festival cannot possibly be held without the support, efforts and cooperation of the city of Fairhope, the enthusiasm of the city employees of Fairhope and the businesses all along the Eastern Shore, especially the businesses in downtown Fairhope. The Fairhope Downtown Business Association members adopted a record number of artists and shared with them some true Southern hospitality, which will stay in their memories for a long time. Our young ambassadors from many Eastern Shore service clubs and schools added a special touch to the festival. These youth work many hours, and they always receive many compliments from the artists.

As you can see by the lists above, it is definitely a community effort to put an event of this size on. Teamwork includes the staff, and I would like to thank the staff for all their support of this event. I would like to especially commend Jay Hasting, our director of tourism, and Kathie Barton, communications manager, for all their hard work.

The festival money raised contributes to the day-to-day operation of both Eastern Shore Chamber offices promoting the Eastern Shore. Local residents and tourists who need information about the area utilize both offices. Last year we averaged over 50,000 people signing in at both offices. This does not include the estimated 8,000-plus phone calls we answer a month. The money also helps us with supporting the many worthwhile committees and projects the Chamber membership works on such as: promoting and aiding our local businesses, workforce development, our environmental award, training community leaders and our Youth Leadership Program.

Again, I would like to thank the many, many people involved in this festival, which supports our efforts in making the Eastern Shore a better place to live, conduct business and play. And thank you to all of our neighbors from both sides of the bay who attend every year and support our artists and local businesses.

President, Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce