Letter: Syttende Mai committee once again pleads for more volunteers

Wednesday, September 02, 2015 10:13 AM

Spring Grove Herald: 

A year or so ago, the Syttende Mai committee published a letter to the editor in the Spring Grove Herald. In that letter we listed a number of issues that the committee was faced with, such as income, expenses, lack of attendance at events and the extreme need for volunteers to help during the celebration weekend.

Since the writing of that letter, the committee, on its own and with the help of some of the other area organizations, did manage to have a 2015 celebration, but of course some of the above listed issues did not get corrected or solved.

We normally do not meet in July, but this year we did have a meeting. There was only one item on the agenda. That item was the discussion of continuing to have a Syttende Mai celebration. The consensus of that meeting was to try and organize a 2016 celebration.

We are assuming there will be a 2017 “Homecoming” committee forming, if it already has not been formed, which could mean that the Syttende Mai committee would, in effect, have some time off from planning. But it was also alluded to, in that meeting, that some of the current board members, who have served almost a decade on the committee, have announced that this would be their last year and they would be leaving the committee.

So, after a lengthy and heartfelt discussion, the committee decided to draft this letter to the public and explain our intentions. The committee members do not want to see the celebration end, but they are also burned out. There are only seven of us on the committee. We cannot and have decided, will not, try to plan, arrange and also execute a full celebration without additional people. Therefore we are asking that if you want a Syttende Mai Celebration to continue after 2017, we need people to commit to helping the weekend of the celebration. We also need people to attend and be a regular part of the Syttende Mai Executive Committee which will meet on the first Sunday of the month at 6 p.m. in the log cabin in Viking Park. 

If there is not a substantial showing of people, with a concrete commitment to Syttende Mai, at the Sept. 13, meeting, the committee has decided it will plan a 2016 celebration, but then take the steps to dissolve the corporation. 

We are “begging” for you to decide if you want a celebration and if you are willing to step up the commitment. If you are, then you must attend the September meeting.

Submitted by Paul Folz,

On behalf of the Syttende Mai Planning Committee

Spring Grove