Faron Wahl, Manager.
Countless thank you’s are in order as we now wind down our regular season, and one can’t possibly cover them all. Pointing out that thanking one person risks missing another is not a trite statement; it’s the reality of this situation. But I personally owe a debt of gratitude to some who just can’t go unnamed.
To our steady flow of volunteers, thank you. Projects big and small got handled again this season because a few folks here and there jumped in and tackled things that could only get done by those means. Thank you especially for working to organize those projects through me so we can labor efficiently and effectively, rather than one hand not knowing what the other is doing.
To our staff, thank you. There are few things I take more seriously here than hiring, growing, and protecting our staff. They are the primary spokes in the wheel going around every day, grinding through whatever tasks we throw at them to make sure we’re ready for the next group of guests or event. I harbor a big empty spot in my heart every year as we wind down in the fall and I suddenly see less and less of this family that bonds deeply all season.
To Bev, my administrative assistant and gift shop manager, thank you. No manager can do his or her job without a network of support, and my support here within our operation starts with her. I’ve rarely worked with anyone who is more dedicated and works harder, longer hours than Bev. I can’t fully express how central she’s been to my position.
Few will ever truly understand what it really takes today to run things smoothly here, as even just a few short years ago the whole operation carried a lighter pulse of complexity. Bev is incredible, and I simply couldn’t do my job successfully without her stalwart, never quit approach. Thank you, Bev, so very much.
But at the end of the day, at the end of the season, and at every other waypoint, there’s one other thank you that is most due, while the evidence of its need is ironically least recognized by anyone. It amounts to the most rudimentary, ground level support I get, without which I simply wouldn’t be here doing the job….
To my dear wife, Peggy, my deepest possible thank you. No one deserves a bigger shout-out for unrecognized commitment. She silently puts up with more than could ever be measured or is visible, and she takes it without complaint. To be sure, communication between the two of us is key, but even that requires her patient half of that equation or the whole thing just wouldn’t work.
When full-time transitions to 7-days per week on site for me around Easter, she deals calmly with my absence without any days off until at least sometime in September. Weekends are always chalked off entirely, and those stay mostly full well into October. Most wives would not only be less than supportive of this lifestyle, they’d be completely intolerant of such a thing.
Yet, she regularly offers her support, asking what she can do to help, despite her own full schedule as an educator. She has even logged many volunteer hours during my four years as manager here, regularly taking tickets at Opera House events and filling other important roles. Our adult daughter does the same, and our son would gladly be in the mix if the 1300-mile trek home was instead a fraction of that.
So, here’s to my dear wife of 26 ½ years, for constantly having my back as manager over the past four years, and frankly for just plain putting up with it. It’s as simple as this: without her support, this would not be possible, and I hope Prairie Village is grateful to her also.
All the best to all of you for the duration of 2019. Prairie Village looks forward to seeing you again soon!