City shines with support for the Great Race

On June 25 Cape Girardeau had the opportunity to host a Welcome Party for the 2013 Great Race, which chose Cape Girardeau as its overnight stop for day four of this year's race. This may have been a one-time opportunity for our local citizens to experience the Great Race without leaving home, since it has never previously passed through Cape Girardeau in its 30-year history.

The goal of our committee was to not only have the best Welcome Party for the 2013 Great Race, but to have the best Welcome Party they had ever experienced. Based on the feedback we received from race participants, I believe we may have met our goal.

Every one we visited with was overwhelmed by the crowds that turned out to welcome them not only at the finish line, but all along their route into Cape Girardeau. They also had nothing but good things to say about the friendliness of our volunteers, their efforts to accommodate whatever needs they had, the quality of the meal and dessert that was provided by Popeye's Chicken and Dairy Queen, the huge turnout of local vintage cars and on and on.

In my opinion, this event epitomized what Cape Girardeau is all about. I could not have been prouder of the way our entire community pulled together to make our Welcome Party a huge success. Every one from our local citizens who came out to cheer the racers on, to our local businesses who sponsored Pit Stop and Welcome parties, to the local news media who went above and beyond to publicize our event, to the city of Cape Girardeau's police, fire and park departments who accommodated our every need deserves a big thank you.

I would like to give special thanks to the following corporate sponsors whose financial generosity made this event possible: NAPA Auto Tire & Parts, Capaha Antique Car Club, EVTV, KFVS, MidAmerica Hotels, Rhodes 101, Charter Cable, Green Sky Cleaning, Roth Restaurant Supply, US Bank, Hutson Furniture, Hot Shots, Capaha Bank, McAllister's Deli, River City Rodders, Teresa Connell/Graphic Designer, Red Letter Communications and Dream Big. I would also like to thank the Capaha Antique Car Club, the River City Rodders, the Evening Optimist Club and Boy Scout Troop 8 for providing manpower the day of the event, Ford Groves and Cape Starter & Alternator for providing mechanical assistance to several of the racers, Volvo Rents for the use of two of their bucket cranes, Isle Casino Cape Girardeau for the use of their parking lot and shuttle bus, Pete Poe for the use of his large flag, VFW Post 3838 for posting the colors at the opening ceremonies, Jacquelyn Kiefner for doing a beautiful job on the national anthem, and anyone else who contributed that I may have overlooked. Finally, I would like to thank Cape Girardeau's Convention and Visitors Bureau, Old Town Cape and the team of volunteers who served on our committee and worked tirelessly to make this event happen. Let's hope the Great Race staff was sufficiently impressed that they will consider bringing the Great Race back for a return visit in the near future.

Danny Essner is chairman of the Cape Girardeau Great Race Committee.