WOW! You guys were wonderful! We feel the 2003 International Ferret Symposium was a great success. But it would not have been any good at all without NUMEROUS people who generously gave of their time, skills and efforts. First, we want to thank our generous sponsors Petco and Parrots of the World. Money isn't everything, but it is a big help in putting on this kind of event. :-) We want to thank our fellow committee members who help with the many tasks that needed to be done and the decisions that needed to be made: Sukie Crandall, Danee DeVore, Renee Downs, Alicia Drakiotes, Troy Lynn Eckart, Bill Gruber and Betty Janner. We are very pleased to announce Sharon Beardon is our newest committee member. This soft-spoken unassuming woman is a dynamo in disguise! We want to thank the speakers: Catherine Bell, Jeanne Carley, Bob Church, Alicia Drakiotes, Sally Heber, Dr. Deborah Kemmerer, Dr. Brett Middleton, Dr. Hanneke Moorman, Dr. Jerry Murray, Rebecca Stout, Pam Troutman, Dr. Bruce Williams and Dr. Heather Wilson. These people shared with us an incredible wealth of knowledge, experience, insight and ideas that will help many of us make life better for our ferrets. We want to thank all the regional coordinators: Alayne Avery, Lynn Barker, Kris Barnes, Sharon Beardon, Mary Jo Bright, Keri Burleson, Aprille Campbell, Marsha Crowell, Kathy Fritz, Terri Gavin, Patti Higgins, Betty Janner, Brenda Johnson, Beth Kerr, Kristeen Kohrs, James Leary, Lisa Leidig, Vicki Montgomery, Francine Prager, Nancy Propper, Lydia Russell and Laura Spearman. I am pleased to announce that Fran Prager is our new Volunteer Volunteer!! Thank you to Betty Janner for putting together the wonderful program, Bill Gruber for moderating and keeping us kinda on schedule, Fran Prager for doing the name tags and organizing the on-site volunteers, and Laura Spearman for the wonderful cake! (Somebody ask about that!) There were also numerous volunteers who jumped in and helped when needed and we can't tell you how much we appreciated it! We want to thank all the generous people, organizations and companies who donated items for our raffles and auctions. There is a list of 64 of them in the Symposium Program, and MANY more who donated on site. The raffle and auction are our main profit source, and we did quite well this time. (Details announced when available.) We want to thank the vendors, who gave the attendees a wonderful shopping experience with a wide variety of ferrety items despite the unfortunately crowded conditions. And most of all, we want to thank ALL the attendees. You forgave the minor problems that came up, and gave showed your devotion to ferrets and ferret friends. You were interested and open to new ideas. You were warm and welcoming to new people. YOU are the ones that made this a success! Linda Iroff Judy Cooke Julie Fossa Co-directors International Ferret Congress http://www.ferretcongress.org [Posted in FML issue 4293]