53rd Annual

SERA Summer Cave Carnival

May 20th - 23rd  2004

Camp Davy Crockett  St. Clair, TN

"IF YOU HOST IT, THEY WILL COME !!!"

SERA 2004 came and went with a bang and with an attendance of over 400 it is sure to be a Summer Cave Carnival that will be one to be remembered.  Everything seemed to fall in place as the event got underway and the attendees started to arrive at noon on Wednesday.  There's no doubt that Cherokee lake played a major role in keeping the cavers occupied as several spent the entire weekend swimming, fishing & boating.   As with any convention vendor row always puts a smile on the cavers faces, and with 14 caving equipment retailers on site, we had a lot of happy mud crawlers.  

Registration for this years event was more efficient than ever.   Plenty of parking and a well laid out design by Michelle Ellison (registration) and Bridget Lynch (pre-registration) helped the cavers get in and get out in five minutes or less.   Even with over 400 attendees the registration building still managed to keep the "long line"  from forming.  Special thanks to Michelle Ellison, Bridget Lynch and everyone that helped in registration.

"HALT....WHO GOES THERE".......Security......Nice job all.    Darrell Lynch & Tim Farr did a fantastic job of making sure everyone knew where to go....for registration and camping that is !!!  Several cavers spent many hours in the hot sun to help with gate security.  Special thanks to Ed & Sandy Sherlin and Chris Kerr for their help.

The guidebooks for SERA 2004 turned out great.  Brent Allen and Doug Plemons did an fantastic job with layout and design.  Several members of the A.G. put in more hours than they care to mention gathering directions to and descriptions of the caves in the area to help make the guidebooks complete.   Rocky Farr added to the design by providing artwork.

T-shirt's.....what can I say !!!   Rocky Farr did a extradonary job on this years design.  Several individuals quoted that this was the nicest SERA shirt ever.  Every t-shirt was sold and still, the cavers came back wanting more.   Special thanks to Rocky for all the time she spent working on the SERA 2004  t-shirt design.  We couldn't have done it without you.

Buttons...... This years SERA offered two different button designs....... one for the adults and one for the small cavers.   The adult button was highlighted with a backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; the children's button featured none other that the infamous Bat Boy.   Curtis Ellison had the honor of designing both buttons.

Saturday evening the cavers gathered at the stage in hopes of winning one of the fantastic door prizes given away and to listen to Riff Raff, the band for this years event.  All in all the Appalachian Grotto handed out over $1600 in prizes, including 1800 feet of rope.  Cavers literally "ran" to the stage to accept their prizes.  (Sorry Anne.....we tried!!!)   Riff Raff more than exceeded our expectations as they rocked into the early hours of the morning.   These guys (and gal) were fantastic, best I have ever heard.

The Appalachian Grotto was proud to be the host of the 53rd annual SERA Summer Cave Carnival. Our dreams to make this the best SERA convention ever became a reality and it wouldn't have been possible without all the hard work and dedication of our members and the volunteers.  We would like to extend our appreciation for a job well done by recognizing the following:

Charles "Sarge" Harbin

From the very beginning Sarge, manager and caretaker of Camp Davy Crockett,  was more than willing to help the A.G. in any way possible.  More than once we had to knock on his door and say "Sarge, I need ........." and he ALWAYS came through for us.   We couldn't have done it without you Sarge.   Your willingness and dedication to the Appalachian Grotto will always be greatly appreciated.  Thanks !!!!!!

SERA 2004 STAFF (APPALACHIAN GROTTO)

Brent Allen, Curtis Ellison, Michelle Ellison, Tim Farr, Rocky Farr, Ashley Farr, Stormy Farr, Jimmy Hall, Tim Luttrell, Darrell Lynch, Bridget Lynch, George Mick, Doug Plemons, Terry Skidmore, & Steve Vaughn.

Pine Mountain Grotto, Flittermouse Grotto, Smokey Mountain Grotto, East Tennessee Grotto, Byrons Printing, Jim Whidby, Highline Ropes, Pigeon Mountain Industries, ButtonStore.com, Cave Rags, Riff Raff, Hillbilly Concessions, Tim White, Bill Overton, Scott McCrea, Thor Barhman, Mike Crockett, Cave Research Foundation, Jeff Bowers, Mike Green, Tamara Hughes, Brian Lloyd, Mark Joop, Anne Elmore, Jim Wilbanks, SERA Karst Task Force, Tennessee Cave Survey, Southeastern Cave Conservancy Inc, Hawkins County Rescue Squad, Carson Campbell, & Morristown Airport.

And last but not least......."YOU"..the cavers that attended.   We couldn't have done it without all those that traveled to the hills of East Tennessee to attend SERA 2004.   Many thanks to all that attended.

***** Curtis Ellison *****