Connections

Sunday  |  May 21, 2017  |  11:02 AM

It takes a village to throw the biggest party of the century.  And boy, do I love our village!

For the last four months our fabulous Homecoming Fest Committee has been working diligently to put together an incredible event for July 1-2.  I love this group!  It’s a wonderful mix of parishioners, school parents, veteran event planners and newbies.   Everyone has come into this project with great ideas, genuine enthusiasm and unflagging (so far) energy.

But it’s time to expand our village—hopefully with you.  Here are some ways you can help make the Homecoming Fest a huge success:

Volunteer!  When you start counting up the number of people we need to work a two-hour shift, it’s a bit daunting, but I have great faith our people will come through.  Signing up is easy—check out      straymond.net to find a job and a shift that works for you.  And did I mention every volunteer will receive a FREE TEE SHIRT?  Gotta love swag.

We have jobs that involve standing up, jobs done sitting down and even a few you can do at a healthy trot if you feel so inclined.  We have jobs outside in the sunshine, some under a tent and some inside in the air conditioning.

Every shift on Saturday and Sunday is two hours.  A mere 120 minutes.   Please take a look at straymond.net and figure out how you can lend a hand.

nterested in making new friends?  Consider working one of the three bars on the festival grounds.  Want to see old friends?  We are designating one bar the Big Red Rocket Bar…We are hoping to have this fully-manned by St. Raymond School alumni.  Great way to reconnect.

Invite your friends!  Best way to build our crowd is one friend at a time!  Make inviting people to the Homecoming Fest a regular part of your MO.   ( I already invited everyone at the butcher counter at Mariano’s last Sunday.)  Who have you invited? 

If you are an alum, reach out to your classmates!  This is the perfect NO WORK way to have a reunion. The Class of 1965 is already working on gathering.  Classmates can email Collette Amiot Weikum at cweikum1@aol.com to get in on the plans.

We are looking for prime real estate.  One of our marketing efforts is yard signs.  If you live on a busy street, on a corner, or in a neighborhood that might be full of folks who don’t know where Six Corners is, let me know via email or phone if you are willing to put a sign in your yard.  We’ll have them available for pick-up at the rectory the first week in June.  If you are willing to help deliver signs (good service hour project!) let me know that as well.

Kidding Around!  Mary Wollgast and Kathy Starasinich are heading up the kids’ games and entertainment, and they are doing an incredible job.  All of those activities are FREE—as is admission for kids in grade school and younger.  This is a deliberate decision to make sure this a very family-friendly event.  We could use some help.  If you know affordable jugglers, magicians, face painters, balloon artists or others who clown around, please send them our way.

We’d also love donated prizes for the kids’ games.  We will buy candy and small trinkets, but we’d love to stretch our  budget with donated items like small toys, bubbles, chalk, crayons, noisemakers, full-size candy bars and other treats.  If you are feeling crafty, look at Pinterest for ideas on medals, crowns, etc.  These items can be dropped at the rectory or in the collection baskets at the  Cathedral doors anytime in June.

One last thought:  I’ve listed all of the Homecoming Fest committee members below.  If you know any of them, reach out and thank them for their work so far—and then ask how you can help. With 41 days left, odds are they could use a helping hand.

Dave Spesia
Jayme Zobel
Rob Bailey
Kellie Bailey
Chris Adler
Cyndi Karges
Christine Pershey
Katie Choudhary
Lynette Shea
Deacon John Shea
Michael D'Atri
John Bailey
Beverly Reeves
Jeff McCune
Tony Gavlin
Ryan Poropat
Jerad Abbott
Nick Ferro
Missy Ferro
Jeanne Leeders
Sean Leeders
Jan Novotny
Jason Mottl
Vicki Martell
Deacon Ed Petak
Rosie McCune
Natalie Bayci
James Grzadzinski
Mary Wollgast
Kathy Starasinich
Kelly Alt
Pete Pluth
Rick Moore
Kirk Reeves
Colleen Abbott
Brian Bessler
Mary Sue Miller
Patty Eggen
Danielle Schumacher
Laura Mottl
Judie Renz

Eileen Hooks Gutierrez

Director of Development and Project Liaison

straysdevelopment@yahoo.com, 815-722-6653, ext. 242

P.S. Congratulations to Fr. Elizeo Nthalika who graduated yesterday with his MBA in Project Management from Lewis University!   Please mark your calendar for Sunday, June 4.  Fr. Elizeo will celebrate his last Mass with us at 9:00 a.m. followed by a farewell reception.