Continued from the Buckeye Lake Beacon…

    We have a great thing going here. Again I know 380 donors who think so. But it’s not enough. It takes a community, the whole tri-county community to take pride as a whole. I can’t do that for you but believe me I’ve about killed myself trying.

    You may have noticed there were no T-shirts this year. Many people have missed them. Well they were a stupid amount of work for the profit that they brought in. People use to buy them thinking that they were contributing to BLASST. Well you did. About $5.00 a shirt but they wore the businesses out and the volunteers who kept them stocked and moved around to different spots. Then there were always two hundred of them unsold. No profit in those. They were a giant job all on their own.

    We are at a breaking point right now. It could go either way. If Dad’s trust money is not used in a very precise way it will get taken away. If all the jobs I do are not filled with competent people who won’t fight with each other to move toward a positive goal BLASST will fall apart. If everyone between the age of 18 and 60 do not see the value and pride in giving one dollar (and 99% can afford a dollar) BLASST will fall apart. If you try and make money off BLASST or you see someone else that is and shouldn’t be, blow the whistle on them because they are not being team players. How can I make you care if you don’t? Will you care when it’s too late? Probably, but it will be beyond anyone’s control by then.

    Let me tell you why I’m sick? Because the Village of Buckeye Lake didn’t seem to understand how fine tuned this instrument called BLASST is. Last winter Rick Baker, John Sproat and other Village members almost gave me a nervous breakdown trying to put up an amusement park to make money off BLASST goers for the Village of Buckeye Lake. Thank God some of my friends shook some sense in their head.

    The Yacht Club leaders upset me every year breaking a promise they made to me and they have made my father and grandfather roll over in their graves with embarrassment from their many bad actions. Needless to say the Yacht club no longer has permission to collect money for BLASST unless it’s a CHECK made out to BLASST from its members. To put it plainly please don’t throw cash in a big can that says it’s for BLASST.

    The Buckeye Lake Fire Department started sending $100.00 one year and I didn’t know why. It seems they have been selling food down at North Shore just outside the park boarder for a couple of years after I told them no. It hasn’t occurred to them there are many places with a 501 © 3 in need of money around the lake that have not stepped on my toes and taken advantage of BLASST. Notice all of these places are located in Buckeye Lake? Do you see a pattern here? I work my butt off and many in this one Village want to take advantage of it. My doctors say no more!

    Now to add insult to injury, here are just two of many letters that were sent over the years. I get hate mail every year, some are much worse:

#1

    “I just finished reading the article in the Beacon where you are willing to pay $500. for a theme, which blows my mind and then I got to the part that said the Fireworks would be on the 2nd of July. What are you celebrating on the 2nd? Why would anyone give money for something on the 2nd? Our Historical Independence was on the 4th! Communities a lot smaller than ours celebrate on the 4th, why can't we?

    Why waste your time. You don't need a theme. It is the celebration of our Independence. The theme is Independence Day. Why would you work so hard to get donation to pay $500. for a Theme. The donations are for Fireworks. You also have a second theme BLASST. You don't need any more names.

    I always gave $50. every year until Tory changed it to the 3rd. I was so disappointed that I cut my donation in half. As I told several of my neighbors and friends about cutting my donation in half, they said they wouldn't send anything for the 3rd. Everyone has hated the Fireworks on the 3rd. and now that you are planning to have them on the 2nd, I can only say, it is a waste of time. If you think Tory had it rough getting help and money for the 3rd, you will have it twice as hard for the 2nd, and might as well save your time; nobody will appreciate your efforts.

    I am asking you to please bring the Fireworks back to the 4th of July.”

    If you don’t know by now that I don’t pick the date; I don’t know what to tell you. You will find the answer on how the date gets picked on this website. I cut and pasted the answer from this website and sent it to the woman who wrote this letter to me and she still thought I was too cheap to pay the security cost for the 4th. Ha, we don’t have enough money for both not even close. She totally missed the part about not having enough state park officers available to us on the actual holiday. Due to state cut backs it was a close call this year…Change is in the air! Arm chair critics rarely volunteer!

#2

    “We are very disappointed that you had the fireworks set for 1 July. All my wife’s family lives in the Chicago area and have to work on July 1 and so won’t be able to attend. I am sending a donation now, but if you schedule next year prevents our family from attending I will stop donations.”

    REALLY?...These letters just make me want to jump right up and volunteer my time and money again for what, the 15^th year? BLASST or just fireworks use to be my passion but this passion has worn me physically down. It would have been nice if we were ALL moving toward one goal though the years and my hope is as I find people to wear my hats that more of this Tri-County community get involved. For instance like checking a hat out from the Beacon if you have big parties. Collect money from your guests with enthusiasm. Go see if your bank will give you a free money order if you have an account there and send five dollars off to BLASST. Be proud of what has been built here. It’s a one of a kind event in a one of a kind place. Now I’m asking if any of you would like to wear one of my hats; please email me with your name, telephone number, address, what you do for a living and a little bit about yourself plus why you want to help to; blasst@roadrunner.com I know I always have my Redneck Women or Friends of BLASST God bless them, to lean on but there are more hats to fill, many more. This website will be changing a great deal so keep your eye on it as the transition happens. Warning: I believe in god, This County and the service people who protect my right to have this website. So if you have a problem with that you should probably stay away from it.

Victoria Wolfe

Chair of the Board