To the Editor:

I never realized how much work it takes to put on the events in downtown Ithaca until I got involved this past year. I
think we all just take for granted that the town puts these events on and we go and have fun and leave. We don’t think about all the work it takes to plan, set-up, run and tear down.

I joined the Ithaca Promotional Committee early this year and have seen the amount of time people put into making these events happen. I always thought the people that put these things on were paid city employees and that was their job. The people that put these events on are volunteering to dedicate their time and effort into making Ithaca a great place to call home. Most of these people work full time jobs on top of the many hours a week they put into meetings and planning.

I think this was the best year of events Ithaca has had yet. Ithaca Family Fun Fest was a blast and Christmas Downtown with the reindeer and Santa was amazing. Don’t forget about Ladies’ Night, the Farm Market, rally for the football players and much more.

None of this could have happened without the time and dedication of the people involved. I would personally like to thank Becky Roslund and Marci Browne. These two ladies put more time into making these events happen than anyone I know. They don’t dedicate so much of their time because they have nothing else to do. They do it for the town, they do it to bring our community together and they do it because they are great people. Thank you to everyone that helped with all the events this year and I look forward to working with all of you in 2010.

Mandy Symonds
Ithaca