Mandi’s personal thank you list – FULL credits can now be found at frankie100.com
#Frankie100 has come and gone and now it’s time for me to face a deep fear that I’ve worried about for more than 6 months; giving proper thanks to everyone who deserves it and trying not to forget anyone!
The list of credit is very long and my team was incredibly generous when they filtered the bulk of the praise my way. The fact is that dozens of people worked hundreds of hours to make #Frankie100 happen. I am so very grateful to each and every person who played a part in this event.
***I won’t be able to list every single person right now, so I’m going to limit this to the people who worked with me directly. We will be putting a very full and extensive list of credits on the website very soon, so please realize that this is not everyone. Edit: credit list now available at frankie100.com***
Mandi’s personal thanks:
First, thank you to Elliott Donnelley who is the one person who was both wise and crazy enough to push for Frankie Manning’s Centennial to happen. Without Elliott, none of Frankie 95, Frankie 100 or even the Frankie Manning Foundation would ever have come in to existence.
Thank you to Sing Lim, who I have idolized and respected for so many years, for your support and camaraderie came in at a critical early planning stage. Without Sing joining me and Elliott 14 months ago, I don’t think that Frankie 100 would have happened. And thank you to Sing for masterminding the World Lindy Hop Day concept.
It’s with very special thanks that that I mention my dear friend, Tim Collins, for completing the fourth corner of our core square so perfectly when he joined us in mid-May. Tim, you brought a balance that our organizing team needed, and that I in particular couldn’t have survived without. I value your dedication, technical skills, spirit and most importantly your friendship more than you can imagine. Thanks for bungee jumping with me again 13 years later.
Thank you to Tim’s incredible support team, Nicolás Speraggi, Ruchi Aviles & Pao Aviles. Wow. What an incredible backbone. So much of your work was in the background and I don’t know if you can ever receive enough thanks for what you contributed to making this event happen. Please know that you are loved.
I think that the people who deserve the most thanks are Eileen Jones & Stephanie Taylorfor the leading the Registration Team, assisted by Laura Clarke, Ani Novshadian and Ben Holness. This was an incredibly labour intensive and thankless job. We could never have predicted the number of hours that this would require. You managed the process with dedication, grace, kindness and humour, even when you were stretched far beyond what anyone could ever expect from a volunteer effort. I bow to you.
I’d like to thank my dear friend, Judy Pritchett, for sharing Frankie with me in a very personal way and for helping to guide the event in the right direction, and for running the Woodlawn Cemetery and Frankie 100 Film Festival.
Shannon Refvik, thank you for knocking the volunteer coordination out of the park. I rely on you in many parts of my life and appreciate the sanity and hope that you give me. Thank you for taking care of me. I basically trust you with my life.
Thank you to Jay Hay, an incredible work horse, who was ready to take on the entire project to make sure that it happened and who worked his butt off this weekend.
Jen Pringle, who came in out of left field and went above and beyond the Terminal 5 decorating project to step in as one of our key team members. We couldn’t have done this without you.
Dave Madison, for being so much more than just “Houston” over the weekend, as well as your help with World Lindy Hop Day. Chachi, for stepping in whenever needed, and for always keeping Frankie’s memory as #1. Steven Leigh put in some serious hours and really came to the rescue over teh weekend too. Thank you, Steven!
Thank you to Cynthia Millman for so many things; particularly for your tremendous work on the Educational Panels and also for capturing Frankie’s words for all of us to cherish forever in the book, Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop.
To Jessica David and Andrea Cody for keeping our finances in check and of course Buddy Steves and the Houston Swing Dance Society. Without you, this event never could have happened.
Thank you to Deborah Huisken for pouring her soul in to the Commemorative Book, a truly incredible souvenir that I hope everyone spends some quiet time reading in contemplation of Frankie Manning.
Thank you to Alain Wong and Daphna Harel for coordinating the global celebrations and much more over the weekend.
The following people were not even able to attend Frankie 100 in person but deserve special recognition for their contributions:
Reesa Del Duca , Ally Martin, Michelle Long, Ron Dobrovinsky, Chris Trubela, Evita Arce, Michael Jagger, Fiona Warner.
I’d really like to thank Reesa Del Duca of Ballyhoo Graphic Design for the superb branding, professionalism and for so perfectly capturing Frankie’s joy and for working with me under duress on some very difficult aspects of the event.
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard on The Show, Swingin’ Frankie’s Way. We will upload a PDF of the Show Program soon, but in particular to Chester Whitmore, Ron Parker, Evita Arce and Michael Jagger who all played very important roles in putting together something very special.
We had a wonderful creative hosting team. Thank you to Hanna & Mattias Lundmark, Jo Hoffberg, Kevin St. Laurent and Robert Klingvall for the special activities and finishing touches that really made Terminal 5 special.
I am so thankful for the NYC Ground Team from both downtown and Uptown in Harlem, many of whose names will follow on the website creds, and to everyone who chipped in from around the world! Nathan Bugh, Amy Winn, Heidi Rosenau, Eileen O’Donnell, Laura Jeffers, Voon, Lainey Silver, Adam Lee, Nicole Zonnenburg, Sara Deckard, Adam Brozowski, Akemi Kinukawa, Claudine Lee, Allison Jones and many others.
There are just a few more names that are very personal to me that I have to add to my personal list.
To my birds, Lindy & Gaudi, who perched on my shoulder through hundreds of hours of work and who were a great comfort to me during some very difficult challenges. And words can not express my thanks to my husband, Geoffrey Holmes, the love of my life and the greatest friend and life partner I could ever ask for, whose patience, love and support allowed this event to happen.
And to Frankie Manning who I have grown to know more intimately in these past 14+ months than I ever knew in person. I’ve thought about Frankie every day and how I might do him proud and commemorate him with the centennial birthday celebration that he deserves. Frankie touched so many of us, and he certainly touched me personally on a very deep level. This has all been for him. Happy birthday, Frankie. #Frankie100
***I am SO SORRY for the people who have not yet been mentioned here. Please stay tuned for the FULL event credits coming very soon.***
