Many thanks
To the editor:
On behalf of the Matlacha Mariners I would like to thank everyone who helped make the 12th Annual Southwest Florida Blues Festival an event to remember. Early reports indicate that this was a good year for the blues festival and in large part it’s due to your collective support. I can’t tell you how many people have commented or sent emails stating what a wonderful time they had. All of the remarks were in appreciation of how well our volunteers worked together and treated our patrons during the event.
First we would like to thank our sponsors and supporters; the Matlacha Hookers – we all know how crucial they are to our success, Budweiser and Sun Coast Distributors – what would we be missing without our favorite beverage, the Arrow 94-5 Classic Rock – for getting the word out, North Trail RV – your support helps us in many ways throughout the event, Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce -it’s always nice to have your local chamber supporting what you do, First Note Music – with instruments to raffle and auction items everyone is a winner, Tech-Tronics “Sound lighting and Staging” – if you were there you know how important they are and Sun-Tech Electrical contractors – without you there we may not even have an event (their support with “Generators/Light Pods” makes it happen).
Special thanks to: the Pine Island Boy Scouts for presenting the flags this year, along with our Pine Island music teacher Gwendelyn Fristensky and the “Pine Island Elementary School Choir,” to all of our Blues Guide Advertisers who participated by placing their ads in this year’s entertainment guide” (Please support them!) you can still find them under preferred business partners on the Mariners web site, www.MatlachaMariners.org just follow the dropdown Partners tab at the top of any Mariner web page, local artist Cliff Schultheis for the great art work used prior to and throughout the Blues Festival including the official festival T-shirts, our newest local nonprofit organization the Southwest Florida Blues Society for providing an opportunity for festival goers to win and bid on some great upcoming BB King tickets in January, Honc Construction and Demolition for providing their resources as they always do, Pine Island Community Church for their cleanup efforts throughout the day, North Fort Myers High School Odyssey of the Minds team for helping with parking and more, our fantastic food vendors, plus our art and craft vendors for their participation, Bert’s Bar and Bubbas Roadhouse for catering to the VIP tent, along with the many Matlacha Hookers who helped provide our artists with a home-cooked meal and southern-style hospitality, finally to the Matlacha Mariners for going the extra mile and helping support this wonderful fund-raiser where everyone is a winner. We hope to see everyone early next year at the 21st annual Mullet Tossing Championship on Feb. 4 2012, followed by the annual Seafood Festival and Car Show on March 17 2010, which will, most likely for the first time, include an exciting classic and custom motorcycle show.
As always, “We are committed to bringing area residents and businesses together with the common goal of making a difference to those who need our support. While our community service projects and special events are organized to benefit others they should also demonstrate the value of cooperation and leadership to other young men and women throughout the community.”
Help us support some of our local needs and become a member today at; www.MatlachaMariners.org.
Jerry Tolliver
Event Coordinator