At it's inception in March (at a Red Lodge Ales beer dinner) this event was dubbed the USSJB. It's logo was a sinking jackalope balls ship - whatever that is. Over dinner and drinks, the idea tornado quickly enveloped us ("us" being Erin, Dave, Rebecca, Louis Habeck, Bruce Bourquin and Doug Bailey). There had to be a bull horn, aisles of people, chicken shit bingo, a bookie, belt sander races, a mini caber toss into a fire, bottle rocket wars, 'release the clowns' and a surprise element. Over the next few months, we sobered and refined the idea. What you ended up with was a much more mild, family friendly, community minded event that was nothing short of perfection!

 

The 1st annual USS JoB spontaneous build competition was an overwhelming success! We raised nearly $6000 to begin the first phase of the green space build. I would like to take this space to acknowledge and thank all the people that made it possible.

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To the builders:

You are an amazing group of people. The dedication and skill level you brought to the event is remarkable. There isn't a single one of you that I wouldn't want on my dream team! To Ben Borcher with a grand total of 35 points, your enthusiasm throughout the competition and grace in the lumber toss was unparalleled!  Denise Kelsay (also with a 35 point total), you hold your own with the young 'uns despite a 40+ year smoking habit. Your tenacity is inspirational.  The one handed wonder, Alethea Durney comes in with a grand total of 40 points. When Denise wasn't holding her own, you held it for her and looked hot doing it! Dennis Friedly, with a whopping 46 points for the weekend and our grand prize winner, Dennis puts holes in it!  Bob Goton - Silent and Stoic, finished the weekend with 34 points. Still waters run deep - just like your creativity.  Bri and Rebecca from the Maker's Space - A dynamic Duo indeed. You also earned 35 points. Heath Worstell with sheer manliness, innovation and a heart of gold, you earned 46 points and made Rebecca cry. Shane Tillotson your amazing finesse with a chainsaw and lumber (both throwing and carving) is impressive. You earned 42 points. And Elmer - we didn't catch your last name but, you swooped in and made us a beautiful sign. We will display it proudly. To all of you, from the bottom of our hearts, Thank you!

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To the Children:

Dalton, Virginia, James, Jude, Ian, Payton, Rowan and Madeline. Your bird-houses turned out wonderful. You were all such good helpers and cheerleaders throughout the weekend. We couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to keep us in check!

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To our sponsors and Volunteers:

To Dana Worsell - there is not a person on earth that could have stepped up the way you did and made it look easy. I know it wasn't. To Bill, Steve, Jeanine et. al - I know you will always be there to entertain us when we need you. To Heart Mountain Farm Supply -  for a very generous donation of funds to help feed and hydrate the builders for 2 long days.  To Travis Swenson - Certainly the most entertaining auctioneer I know and a great guy to boot! Thank you for donating your time and talents. To the 1st Bank of Wyoming for enthusiastically sponsoring the event with a cash donation as well as our grand prize (A job-site radio) for the highest bid winner (Dennis Friedly)! To Etheridge Seed Farms for the seeds to plant the plants that will make our green space green. To Delana Bear for all the ad design - I am glad you like doing it as much as I like you to do it! To Fremont Beverages for all of the Pepsi products for the weekend, To Kalyn Beasley for putting the cherry on top - you sounded amazing! To Pinnacle Bank- for your support in all things Gestalt and a cash donation for the event, Blairs for a gift card for our last minute grocery needs, Denyce Reno for your support and generous donation, Matt and Stephanie Weed for the delicious cookies and use of your offspring for the afternoon, To Jessi for your support daily and the extra you gave us by lending us Ben and the girls for the weekend. To Linton's Big R, Larry French, Barbara Johnson, Dana Worstell, Tracy and Mike Lohr and Greg Payton for all the fun silent auction items, To Bob Newsome for his scrap pile, To WYOld West Brewing for providing the end-of-the-weekend stress relief, LaVina's for letting us invade, The Powell Chamber of Commerce for your support. To Brian, Heather and Carole, we can always count on you to show up and pitch in. Thank you.

 

To everyone that came out to support the build:

Something happened this weekend that we did not fully anticipate. About mid-day on Saturday, the atmosphere changed in the parking lot. In spite of the wind and rain bearing down on us, there was a coming together of a community of people that were genuinely excited about what was happening. We had had a less-than-vigorous spray paint relay contest earlier in the day and were seriously questioning our event planning skills. But, the builders grinned their way through it (the fumes from the spray paint may have helped). Later that day, when the wind kicked up, the builders kept building. When the rain started spitting, the builders kept building. When the wind and rain got to be too much, the builders banded together and got everyone's tools and projects into protected areas. And, when it was all clear, they kept building. Even when the beer arrived and dinner was ready, they kept building. The more they built, the more curious onlookers stopped to encourage them. Some even joined them. By the end of the day on Sunday, we had an enthusiastic crowd of willing bidders assembled for the big auction. The pieces that were created were truly pieces of utilitarian art and anyone that was lucky enough to have the winning bid will certainly cherish a piece of history for many years to come. At one point during the auction, Heath Worstell purchased a very special bird house. This bird house was built by a young boy named James along with his new friend Dalton and with the help of Dave and Brian. James had been at the build since the beginning and was involved with every team at some point. What none of us knew was that James is moving to Louisiana this summer and was pretty bummed out about it. As a thank you and going away present, Heath gave James his bird house. That spirit of coming together, taking the time to get know each other and caring about your neighbor that the builders had developed  over the weekend, spilled over into the community and we were able to raise nearly $6000 to start the development of a space that everyone can enjoy. So, from all of us here at Gestalt and all of the future green space occupants, we thank you.

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A few special Thank You's from Erin:

To my Dad and Mom - Ken and Debbie Borcher - first of all, welcome home. You are the most supportive, encouraging, wonderful parents a girl could ask for and I am elated to have you home and on the mend. Also, a big thank you for your incredibly generous donation for the green space.

To Dave, Thank you for your patience and understanding the past few weeks. I abandoned you on the home-front and you didn't miss a beat. Thank you for jumping in, tying up loose ends, picking up wind blown trash and making everyone feel welcome.

To Kellyn, Levi and Brandi, I know you wanted to be here for the whole event and couldn't but, your support and help in getting ready for it and help dealing with the aftermath are greatly appreciated. 

To Leslie, Thank you for taking a time out from your time out to help with prep and pep! We love you.

To Sarah, Thank you for maintaining a sense of calm and normalcy while we were all running around like crazy and for working extra long hours when we came up short handed! You Rock!

To Tracy, your culinary skills and smile amaze me every day but, especially this weekend. Thank you for feeding us three times a day for two days and doing it exceptionally well. Thank you, also, for donating your time and letting us borrow your offspring all day on Sunday. Thank you for the endless hours of planning and re-planning! You are a ray of sunshine.

To Rebecca, From conception to completion, you were the driving force behind this event. Every bit and piece fell where it needed to because of you. Thank you for encouraging me to run with it, running with me and reigning me in when I ran too far. Thank you for organizing my lists of lists, boxes of boxes and bags of bags. Thank you for your willingness to take the time to make it work... no matter what 'it' is. P.S. the T-shirts are A-mazing.

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