Last fall, the Horseshoe Day Committee felt that the event needed a face lift. That was when we came up with the 'hillybilly' theme, which included Cousin Lester's family from Pig Knuckles, West Carolina.

As the idea developed, there was a new drive in the committee and the creativity was almost limitless. We had a 'hoot'!

This lead to the total re-thinking of how the event was to be structured, managed and promoted. Each team member took on a function for which they were responsible. I became its Financial Officer / Business Manager, handling financial tracking and promotion.

It is suprising what can be accomplished when you get five people together that want to make a difference and are not afraid to trust each other. This group has a sense of focus, cooperation, accomplishment and fun that I have seen in very few organizations.

We kept the staples like the demolition derby, horseshoe tourney, Saturday night dance and wrestling, while adding new attractions like the monster truck rides, interactive skill events and the pig races. We added new food items like BBQ ribs, pulled pork and a roast beef dinner to the traditional hamburgers and breakfasts.

I went to the local media and briefed them on what we were doing, asking for their support in the project. The response from the Echo, the Moose and the Canoe was beyond belief.

We know that we took a chance on investing this much effort into an event that lost over $1,000 last year. However, we believe that besides its entertainment value, Horseshoe Days generates considerable revenue to the local businesses on the weekend that it runs.

Unfortunately, the results of the 2010 event fell well short of our expectations and resulted in a sizable financial loss.

As promised, a full report was prepared and submitted to council. It identifies the good and the bad of what was done, including what should be dropped and what could have been better done. We believe that it will serve as a solid starting block for next year's event.