As a co-chair of the History Book Festival (along with Jen Mason), I write to express our gratitude for the editorial in the Gazette Oct. 17. The festival has been a long labor of love dating back to Oct. 5, 2015, when Jen and I first presented the idea at a meeting hosted by the Lewes Chamber of Commerce thanks to Betsy Reamer. Since then, my co-chair, our board, and a host of volunteers all pitched in to make the inaugural festival the success it proved to be.
That success would have been impossible save for the countless hours devoted to the festival by my talented co-chair and our spectacular board: Matt Ash (budget and logistics), Ruth Cohen (fundraising), Jim Curtis (organizational support), Linda Dylla (communications co-chair), Rebecca Lowe (volunteer coordination and library liaison), Thomas A. Owen (fundraising), Joan Russo (communications co-chair), and Tom Thunstrom (communications). The Schell Families generously supported our keynote speaker (James L. Swanson) and the accompanying Federal City Brass Band. And then there were our Festival Founders: Delaware Humanities, Delmarva Public Radio, the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, iHeart Media, Print Coast2Coast, Biblion Books, and Delaware Freedom's First. Thanks to Nancy Staisey and Stan Divorski for hosting a wonderful reception for our authors.
A special shout out to the great folks at the Lewes Public Library and our bookseller Browseabout Books and their Susan Kehoe who moved mountains for us. Michael DiPaolo of the Lewes Historical Society has been supportive from the beginning. Local businesses also helped out, and we appreciate their support. In the end, the History Book Festival was, as Mayor Ted Becker said, a community effort. It shows what people can do when they come together for a common cause.
One more thing: mark your calendars for Sept. 28-29 for next year's festival, and stay tuned for a few special events between now and then (www.historybookfestival.org).
Ronald Collins
cochair, History Book Festival
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