May 9 -10, 1998

by Collette Lemons

Friday was a beautiful day; we set up the field and waited for the early kite fliers to get here so we could have our traditional brownie and beer bash. This year we added chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. It was a nice time and the bonus is, the leftovers get to be breakfast the next morning.

Saturday was the absolute opposite of Friday; it didn’t just rain, it poured. We stood around most of the day just having a good time catching up on all the gossip and creating a little just to keep it interesting. We managed to get three competitors finished before giving it up for the day. There was nothing left to do but socialize a little more. There was one vendor that we can’t praise more.

The indoor fly started around 5:00 p.m. at the Henthorn Community Center. It was a good time, we had our auction, Dennis Phillips did a great job as the auctioneer. We presented Richard and Marti Dermer with T-shirts for all the support they have given us over the years. They brought their Miniature Kite Collection and it was very popular for the spectators. The kids (big and small) had a great time chasing mini Frisbees and boomerangs. We flew kites in one half the gym and played basketball in the other. That was an interesting combination, but it went together very well and they all had a great time.

I had the best Mother's Day ever, and I think all 48 of my kids are very special. I would like to thank all the moms out there who let me have their kids on this special day. Sunday came and so did the sun. We managed to get all the competition finished. Dennis Phillips and Cliff Lemons took turns announcing for the event. Dennis kept the spectators involved with games and keeping them informed of the maneuvers and the kites being flown. We were disappointed that Dick and Gail Bell couldn’t stay long. We look forward to seeing them longer next year.

We had the Rokkaku Battle, but Cliff decided not to enter this year so everyone in the battle were new teams with the exception of theTaylors. The traveling trophy went to John Lemons and James Sherrod flying Richard Dermer's Rokkaku. It was a good battle and they played hard at it. Cliff said he taught them everything they know, but not everything he knows. Next year when everyone can be here we will have a great battle.

There is one competition item I would like to mention, Quadline Ballet. In all the time I have been working the scores on this event, never have I seen a score like Aaron McCully's. (I promised Dennis and Tony that I wouldn’t tell you Aaron is from Austin, TX., so I won’t.)  He received a total score of -47 points. It was mentioned the score could have been worse but one of the judges lost track of the crashes.

I would like to thank everyone who volunteered this weekend. It gave me time to visit with people. I would like to especially thank Dennis Phillips and Cliff Lemons for an excellent job of announcing, Tracy Taylor for helping with the score keeping, Larry Stiles and Jay Maas for helping to sort my wind blown papers, Steve Thomason, Paul Taylor, Tomarra Taylor, Richard Dermer, Troy Gunn, Shane Snowden and John Grimshaw for judging all day long. Richard and Marti Dermer for bringing the miniature kites, John Lemons and James Sherrod for being the secret judges for the single line contest, won by Jug Buckles for his kite "Fantazmia" . Beth from Oregon for her wonderful animal buttons, Carrie Lemons for her help keying music. Barbie Raney from the city of Tulsa Parks Dept. for opening the indoor fly for us, Pam Thomason for setting up Thomason's Sportkites at the event. Wings-N-Things, and Tom’s RiverTrail Bicycles for their wonderful donations. Durrango’s for being the only vender brave enough to come out Saturday and stay for the Kite Fliers. (They make an excellent burger.)

Dennis Phillips won the SWSKL volunteer award. I did learn one thing this year, it is a hard decision to decide who volunteered the most, and I just want to give hugs and kisses to everyone who came and worked so hard to make Tulsa the great event it is.

I would also like to mention that Dennis Phillips and Friends made the Tulsa Event T-shirts this year and I owe them a huge thank you for their hard work.

A huge Thanks to all my sponsors, Revolution, Thomason Sport Kites, AJ Horn, Paul’s Stunt Kites, Precision Kites, KaleidoKites, Paul Aldridge, Tom’s RiverTrail Bicycles, Wings-N-Things, Channel 6 KOTV, Marti & Richard Dermer, Round Rock Kite Club, Tony McCreedy, Jug Buckles, John Lemons, Pam Thomason. You all helped make this a special time for everyone and we all would like to say Thank you.