[MR] Thank-Yous from The Autocrat of The Crescent Guard's Atlantian Games (Long)

[Robyn Becker]

Greetings to all you all!  I hope all who attended my event are well-rested, and are recovering from this weekend.  I know I slept at least 10 hours last night!
 
I have spent all day trying to come up with an appropriate thank-you email to send out.  I have to admit - sometimes I think this part is harder than running the event.  Not because I don’t want to thank anyone, but because I don’t want to forget anyone, and because it’s so hard to find the words to express my gratitude to the people who helped me make the event such a success.
 
An Autocrat always knows they’ve done their job right when they spend most of their event walking around having a good time, instead of being stressed out and running from one problem to another.  But part of the job is in the choosing of staff.  If you have great staff, who know what they’re doing, and need little supervision to do their jobs, you’re in good shape.  And I had that.
 
So, even though I couldn’t find the perfect words to say, I knew I had to say something.  So here it goes.
 
First off, I want to thank Their Majesties and Her Highness for attending the event.  Your presence turned a small, first-time archery event into something wonderful and memorable, and I have not the words to truly express my gratitude.
A special thanks to Baroness Martelle for ending her vacation early to attend the event.  She had barely gotten home when she turned around, jumped back into the car, and drove to the site.  She was even 2 hours early!
 
I would next like to thank THE most important person on my staff, my partner in crime and MiC, Seamus McRay.  To say that I couldn’t have done it without Seamus is a gross understatement.  Without him, the event simply wouldn’t have happened.  No matter what I asked, or suggested, he found a way to make it work, with only minor adjustments.  I’m certain there were several times where he walked away from a meeting thinking I was out to kill him, but he still did what I asked, and he did a spectacular job of it.  Seamus, what can I say?  You rock.
Lady Akiyo – My Lunch Cook, who was up until the wee hours of Saturday morning making pies.  She offered up a wonderful, diverse meal, and was flexible enough to adjust to the additional numbers brought in by the Royal presence.  She also set up a special lunch for Their Majesties and Her Highness, which wasn’t originally part of the budget (which she still came in under).   Thank you, Akiyo – you did a wonderful job!
Baron Barre – Saturday Head Cook – As usual, Barre went far and above the call of duty.  Beef, pork, lamb, potatoes, and veggies, all grilled to perfection!  With the help of Baroness Cordelia and Lady Maeve, who made her wonderful mushrooms and cheese (don’t ask me to spell it, I can barely pronounce it) and her Almond tart, Saturday evening dinner was a roaring success.
Lord Gustav – Friday Head Cook – I don’t think I’ve ever had a tastier plate of spaghetti!  Very simple fare, for a small fee, yet everyone who ate it was raving at how wonderful it was.
Susan Morrison – First Responder – I am never worried about the health and safety of the people attending at event when Susan is on duty.  She bandaged up more people this weekend than she’d care to admit, to the point where they wouldn’t even let her leave!  She always does an excellent job. And I know that she only has my welfare in mind when she’s telling me to drink or eat or sit and rest. 
Jarratt (Lord Magnus) – Jarratt spent the weekend parking cars, putting up tents, and generally doing what he always does at events – staying in the background and doing all the heavy work that no one wants to do.  And of course, he’s spent the last 5 months dealing with me as I slowly put this event together.  Jarratt is the rock I lean against for support when I feel like everything is falling apart.  
Lizzie – for once again driving all the way from Isenfir to play with us, and for making me tokens one last time before you leave for Gleann Ahban.  Know that you will be missed.
Lady Anne Rose – for wrangling the retainers and dealing with a lot of things I just didn’t have time for.  You certainly made my day easier.
 
Troll Crew – Lady Ro and her staff – Ladies Yseulte, Szilagy (Ardis), Livia, and Dame Olwen.  Ro, you always do a smashing job at Troll.  And you took on the additional job of keeping track of the Saturday Dinner money, which helped me out immensely.  And your staff of course also did a fine job – I heard of no problems from Troll at all this weekend.
Heralds – Lady Wynne, Lord Michel, Lady Alexandria – you guys stepped up as needed, with little notice.  Thank you all for everything!
Silent Auction – Lady Cassie and Lady Szilagy – You guys have been doing a fabulous job at the Silent Auction, and this time was no exception!  Those baskets you put together were fabulous!
 
The Crescent Guard crew – Seamus, Rhys, Barre, Gustav, Vaclav, Treya, Ineoin, Fearghus and Uilliam.  This crew is the best crew anyone could possible ask for.  They started set-up in the rain Friday morning, put up pavilions, set up tables, cleaned up the clubhouse and kitchen, and literally worked until dark.  And Sunday, after running through the shoots once more, they proceeded to tear everything down, pulled down pavilions, and generally left the place looking better than we found it.
Baron Barre was especially helpful throughout this event.  He worked hard all weekend long.  He hauled the pavilions t the site, put them all up, then cooked a fabulous dinner, and returned the next day to pull all the pavilions down and haul them away.
 
In addition, I would like to add a thank-you to Baroness Martelle who also returned on Sunday to help break down the pavilions, and to Baroness Cordelia and Dame Olwen, who cleaned up the clubhouse and kitchen.  That building definitely looked better after we left.
And a final thank-you to Lord Gustav, who hauled all the trash away for us.  He saved me at least one trip, and a back-breaking effort of having to unload my truck by myself at home.
 
I think that’s all. If I forgot anyone, please know it was not on purpose, but simply because there were so many people doing so many things.  
Once more, for good measure – thank you all!  Through all of your efforts, this event succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
 
YIS,
 
Lady Reyne Telarius
Autocrat, The Crescent Guard’s Atlantian GamesA true friend is someone who knows all your faults and habits, and loves you anyway.Per chevron purpure and vert, two sheaves of arrows and a griffin argent
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