The power of teamwork

?I am not jumping this fence! I just came out the front door of The Journal office!?

OK, let?s be honest. It would have been more accurate of me to say to the man who stopped me in between the barricades surrounding the stage set up on Marion Avenue, ?I am not jumping the fence this particular time. I jumped the fence four times about 30 minutes ago and I plan to jump the fence again when I come back. You just didn?t catch me jumping the fence right now.? That was on July 29 when a fluke of infrastructural karma required one of the stages for the RAGBRAI® celebration to be located directly outside of The Journal office. As a result, a double section of plastic barricades were put up on both sides of the front door of The Journal, which I must add was still open at the time. This made entry and exit from the office a little tricky. Still, it was neat having a stage with a band playing directly outside the front windows of the office. On a day that was very busy, it was a nice change. Also, when I came back from interviewing people, five Henry County Sheriff?s deputies had taken position in front of the fence, to make sure no one was going over.

If you think this funny (in my opinion) story is in any way critical of the RAGBRAI celebration, you are really not taking it in the spirit in which it is intended. It was one of the interesting things that happened to me during the event.

Well, we did it! Apparently we did it very well, too. We ? the people of Washington, West Chester, the team from Wagon Wheel Vineyards, and our friends over in Columbus Junction ? really gave the riders in this year?s RAGBRAI bike ride something special to remember.

I have talked with several local people who rode with the pack from Washington into Muscatine for the final leg of the weeklong journey. They reported people saying Washington was the best stop all week and hoping that the bike tour travels through here again soon. Personally, I would say not too soon, but I am sure in a few years we will be more than ready to host the event again.

The people who made it down to the square during the afternoon and evening hours of July 29, I?m sure, made some really good memories of the event. I know I did.

With an estimated 20,000 people visiting Washington that day, and several months of Washingtonian ingenuity at work, it was almost impossible not to have a good time. The positive energy coming from everyone, both guests and residents, on the square was something that was a joy to see. I watched as people from all over the state got together to enjoy the entertainment and to see the sights of Washington. It was neat seeing people taking pictures in Central Park of the pig entryways or the bike display constructed by the Kirkwood welding class. It was great watching the people on their bikes roaming around town and viewing Conger House or Sunset Park. It was particularly good hearing the comments about Washington being one of the best stops on the tour.

What do I attribute this to? Why are we so much better than others? To me, the answer is simple. We have the people of Washington who regularly band together to make sure that whatever is going on in our community is done right. In this case there was plenty of planning and preparation leading up to the event and on July 29, the people just had to go down the checklist that they, as a team, had made earlier and make the event happen. It always amazes me how few communities can actually do this.

The people who spent months planning the event and the people who just came out on July 29 to lend a hand all need to give themselves a well-deserved pat on the back for the showing Washington made. RAGBRAI XLIV is just the latest example of the people of Washington coming together and chipping in to make an event really special.

I?m told there probably won?t be a 15-year lull between RAGBRAI visits next time. I wonder what we will do during the next RAGBRAI visit to distinguish ourselves.