The Backbone of Polkfest 2008

[dorokusai]

All audio forums share the same objective but not all of them have the same backbone. If you attended Polkfest, awesome but if you didn't here's some history.

This wasn't Polk saying HEY! let's open up the doors for a bunch of forum freaks to run around our offices and make us look cool.....this was serious business.

There was a lot of work that took place and you folks will never feel the impact of that. How many companies open their doors because you belong to a user forum? This was, and always has been a member generated effort. You need to poke the giant every now and then but the reality of it all is the meeting of the actual members' and the setting.

Club Polk and its members' have created and generated the action for these events. Polk Audio happens to think that's pretty awesome and they have always pulled out all the stops to make it special. HQ tours DO NOT happen every year, this was a bonus. The last one was in 2005.

Polkfest, as a user gathering, has been happening since 2002 and you know what, it was a members' idea....nothing major, just an idea. Why not have a get together for people that dig Polk products. Russ Gates (Russman) started this whirlwind and I believe the first meet was all of 5 members? Russ, correct me me if I'm wrong. Phuz fits in here even earlier but I am a late member.

I called you freaks because I'm a Polk freak as well, and proud of it. You don't have to own every Polk speaker made to be a member of this forum. That's pretty obvious by the diverse selection of listeners/members we have available 24/7. We're here because we care about the many facets of not only the product but the end result of what we all love in the end....audio.

We LOVE our forum and I firmly believe it's one of the best on the internet for this type of conversation and support. Polkfest, since 2002, has set the bar for our community. You all, ALL, should feel good about that.

Some, or all of us have been to Texas, Carolina, Maryland, and Georgia based on member participation alone. This wasn't a paid exploration into the unknown....members volunteered their homes for these functions. I think it's about time for the West Coast to step up and host something....but the middle area, the area you hate to drive thru, wouldn't be too shabby either. If it's Ohio, count me out ;)

Our Polkie TroyD(SC PF 1&2) is running a hardship tour in Korea but has hosted two of these events, just like Russ(TX PF 1&2). You know what his objective is when he gets back? Alot of monkey, basket style sex but more importantly, to immediately host another Polkfest and I'll be there for sure.

That's family style structure folks, on the internet.....show me some of that elsewhere.

You want to know who has supported us since 2002, especially 2008....whether they liked it or not :D You have no idea how many ppl make this happen for you but here's a handful that you better bow down to next time you see them. In no particular order...just as I typed so blame me.

The Kluge - Live Music....In-House Polk musicians that came out AGAIN to jam for us. Awesome!

"The group that played was Steve Tourison and I (the group known as Still Thinking), plus Brad Saylor. So calling us The Kluge is appropriate. The Kluge has traditionally been a group of Polk employees gathered together for the purpose of playing music for a Polk event, usually lead by me. Not to be confused with Dean’s Blues All Stars, of course, which is a group of Polk employees gathered together for the purpose of playing music for a Polk event, usually lead by Dean. - Scott Orth"

Len Shufelt – Set-up of all demos and equipment support for the Ballard event.

Stu Lumsden - Engineering & CLASSIC Video of "Balmerese"

Shelia Edwards – Administration

Katie Badders – Administration

Jenny Suskind – Tour Guide

Greg O’Rourke – Tour Guide

Monica Robles – Tour Guide

Scott Olson – Tour Guide

Eric Wong – Tour Guide

Brian Knauss – Tour Guide

Matt Lazzaro - Tour Guide

Matt Lyons – Facilities Tour

Al Baron – Demo

Mark Suskind – Demo

Brain Ahmed – Demo

Matt Polk – Demo

Al Ballard – Demo

Thom Voisinet – Car Demo

Warlocks1(Jeff), A non-employee and resident Polkie has always squared away Polkies for car rentals since 2003 since he's a badass rep for a certain company :D Thanks for geting some of these weirdos here.

This is just a 2008 listing but Polk has pulled out all the stops for us historically. There are so many others that contribute behind the scenes as well.

Seriously, that's hardcore and that means alot to me personally.

For the Polkies....just some thoughts, and maybe you can thank who grabbed you by the hand and tour'd you. I swear Matt had a whip and a DEVO hat but that has not been confirmed.

Polk Audio, thanks SO much for the time and effort you spent for us lowly Polkies....it means SO much to us. Hey Polk....it isn't just an email for thanks....you folks are like Rock Stars to us, and yes that's weird but get used to it. And get used to us hiding in your bushes....or at least ME hiding in your bushes at night....playing Stratego sans pantalones.

Viva la Polk!....wait, I'm a redneck...so, uh, cool man, let's do a kegstand.

[F1nut]

Here, here!

Allow me to offer my thanks to all of those behind the scenes that made this happen, including our very own, Doro.

Thank you one and all.

[dorokusai]

Monica/Justin - Please post that Stu video on the Polk You Tube.....Hilarious :D

[disneyjoe7]

Nice, and yes like to thank everyone who made this PF possible.

[brettw22]

I emailed Al asking him to upload that to Youtube as well......that was funny as hell.....

And I agree.......I'm glad a lot of people showed up........but I hope that translates into the non-HQ fests as well.......don't get me wrong......seeing how things are done is cool and you get to see things not yet to market, but the *feel* of these things is more along the lines of a bunch of weirdos spending their cash on traveling all over the country to hang out with fellow freaks..........

It's not something that many people would understand........and it's not easily explained without sounding like a crazy person, but for those that have been to a few have met people they will interact with for years to come, both on the forum and outside it.

[ben62670]

Someone is missing from the list of helpful people. Thanks Doro for the time you put into this event too.
Ben

[Fireman32]

I would also like to say thanks to everyone who made this possible. The factory tour was awesome and getting to meet everyone behind the scenes was a real bonus. Looking foward to going back to Troy's next year and seeing all you crazy freaks.

[TroyD]

Well said, Mark, well said......I'm also going to put a plug in for Mark, for the two PF's that I've held, Mark has put a LOT of time and energy into both of them. Without Mark (and a host of others) PF wouldn't be the event that it is.

We are freaks, and I couldn't be more proud to be associated with you loonies.

See you all in Charleston next fall.....I've already got my new liver on pre-order.

BDT

[heiney9]

It was great to finally participate in one of these PF's and taking the tour was icing on the cake. A big huge THANK YOU to all those involved behind the scenes doing all the little things to make this 2 day freak-fest possible. Also a big thanks to Russ and Mark for being the catalyst and all their hard work up to and including Polk Fest 2008.

The hospitality, generosity and outright genuine enthusiasm from Polk Audio and its employees was absolutely outstanding. This Forum is one of the best on the internet.

H9

P.s. It was also great to finally meet many of the people face to face, talk, hang out, joke around and in general have a great time.

[warlocks1]

Polk is an awesome company and the forum is second to none. Thanks to ALL who made this happen.

Because of the Polkfest, I am in the process of changing my cave back to a Polk setup. I came home that Friday and hooked my 1.2tl's back up and jammed for hours. I am going to sell all my Martin Logans and go back to the 1.2tl's and other vintage Polk setup.

Thanks Mark and Polk Audio!
Jeff

[George Grand]

What a great bunch of people at Polk. How could somebody attend this fest and not want to do their share to substantially increase Polk's market share?

[Beekyman]

A BIG THANKS goes out to ALL of the good folks (seen and unseen, Polk employee or Polk fan) that make these events a reality. Having attended only 2 Polk Fests in 05 and 08 I have always been impressed by the mutual level of passion and commitment displayed by Polk Audio personnel and Polk Forum members alike! I always leave Polk Fest re-energized and motivated to dig further into the hobby. I am looking forward to attending future Polk Fests and seeing more of the wonderful synergies that make Polk Fest a reality.

[MillerLiteScott]

Agreed. I had a great time at HQ and Al's house. The hospitality was fantastic both days. I enjoyed meeting all the Polk employees and it was great to meet all the people from the forum and put a face to the screen name.

A great company and community for sure.

Special thanks to Mark and Russ and all the names on the list above for putting the whole weekend together.

Scott

[schwarcw]

I'd like to throw in my thanks to everyone at Polk Audio for their efforts to make Polkfest a wonderful event. Al Ballard opened his house to us for the Saturday party. I thanked him several times but that's probably not enough. All the staff was especially friendly, helpful and very considerate. What a fabulous group of people. Mark, Doro many thanks again for for your efforts in the planning, organizing and for putting up with our antics year round here on the Forum. Last, but not least, Matt Polk for creating the products that we all use and love so much. I was impressed on how much time Matt spend talking to the people and answering questions. He was very gracious in answering questions he was probably asked many times during PF and through the years.

Forum members, your the greatest! I was fortunate to meet and talk with so many of you at PF. See you next year!

Troy, I look forward to seeing you next year! Thanks for your service to our country!

[cfrizz]

Yes thanks to all who put things together for us crazy Polkies, it was a fabulous 2 day party that I & Mark will always remember!

And a big thanks to Russ & Doro for all their help to make it happen as well. I saw a good bit of what you did at Al's house that helped keep thinks flowing smoothly!

[polrbehr]

After a week to reflect and let the events sink in a little bit,
I would also like to offer my thanks to those who made this PolkFest
such a success. And to think, I was "on the fence" about attending, not because
of aprehension or uncertainty, but because of lifes' inevitable curveballs.

Friday was excellent, not just because we got to see how our speakers were crafted, but
because it was refreshing to see the enthusiasm of almost every member of the Polk team,
and the pride with which they demoed and talked about their products. It is not often that you will see a company as well-established as Polk open their doors to the masses, or a company president who remains as passionate about his work after all these years. It's no wonder they are respected and revered as an audio company.

It would be difficult to decide which day I thought was "better" in terms of
cool factor, because each had their moments for me, but I'd have to give the edge to
Saturdays gathering at Al & Hedys' house, for really getting the chance to talk to other people who before were only names on a screen. Seeing how most PolkFests are held at members houses, this is what it's really all about. I look forward to going to another one of these in the future, and I'd encourage all who were not able to go to this one to do the same.

[hearingimpared]

Very well put Mark. I second the hear, hear!!!!

[SDA SRS 1.2]

A BIG thank you also to everyone who has posted photos for those of us who weren't there!

Robbie

[hoosier21]

These Polkfests have always amazed me.

Regular folks opening their homes to strangers. These strangers come from near and far to drink,eat, demo and discuss stereo equipment.

Polk Audio has supported these gatherings from the start, Micah sent a few T-shirts, stickers and such, but the biggie was Polk flew the head of engineering Stu Lumsden out to Texas to meet us and spend a few hours with us crazies.

As stated above, both the members here, and Polk Audio have made these pretty incredible events. I should know, I have made it to every one of them, and at each location, they find a way to set the bar higher and higher.

I know I am way over due to host one, but I have two problems:
1. my wife is still alive (as in "over her dead body")
2. the divorce after I said I was hosting one, would leave me in a one bedroom apartment

THANK YOU to all that have made these possible.

Russ

[beardog03]

Though I could not attend, I was able to attend the `05 event, and have seen first hand the effort put forth to make it all come together.

I would like to thank Mark, Russ, Al, Matt, and all the others that keep the Audio Love together and alive for all of us to enjoy.....together.

I have made lifelong friends through this forum, and was able to meet many of them at Marks house when I went to MD to attend PF.

I was not able to make it this year, but maybe Texas is in the cards....who knows...


My thanks to all who support the Audio Nuts , and Polk Audio (all employees) for making my audio world turn.


Bear

[lightman1]

This was my first big PF, and I cannot express enough, the gratitude I have for all at Polk Audio,Mark and Russ for keeping the fire going. Only a year and some change ago I found this forum. And just hangin' around and BS slingin', I've come to find new freaks, hacks and friends on the same audio quest.
I tip my hat to all the great Polk folks at HQ, knuckleheads like Mark and Russ(man) and all the hacks who came by plane train and automobile, THANK YOU!



March in NC is coming soon..................;):D

[phuz]

Cheers! Wish I had made it this year.

If anyone is up for a Texas meet, I'll gladly host.

[F1nut]

Here, here!

I second the hear, hear!!!!

AGH! If only I could edit........JUSTIN!

[shack]

I did not think I would be able to make it this year due to business issues even though I really wanted to attend. I was unable to make the 05 HQ Polkfest because it fell on my daughter's 18th birthday and there are a few things that take priority over a PF. Circumstances changed and I was able to attend. It had a bit of a different feel than the 2 in SC and last year's in GA (a bit more refined thanks to Polk's involvement-but in a good way). I'm glad I went. Each and every Polk employee that participated to make this a wonderful event should be commended. I am even more of a Polk fan now. I want to purchase a product that the people who make it believe in...and that is very evident at Polk.

Thanks to everyone at Polk for a weekend I won't forget.

Thanks for the invite!

See ya'll next year in SC.

[ESavinon]

Once again, Many thanks to all involved in making polkfest 08.

[ND13]

As an attendee of '05 and 06' PF's, I really wish I could have made it, but life is suck.

Looks to have been a blast.

Thanks to Polk for giving the attendees a great time.

[TroyD]

Be at CPF III next fall and life will not be suck.

I tell ya, man, I LIVE for Polkfest.

BDT

[reeltrouble1]

Be at CPF III next fall and life will not be suck.

I tell ya, man, I LIVE for Polkfest.

BDT

I am pretty sure everyone understands what I think about the Fests and the great folks at Polk Audio who support them. They are certainly amazing events.

So I will be in SC for you brother Troy, I would though like to have my special pillow available.

RT1

[steveinaz]

What a great thing for Polk Audio to host. I WILL make one of these meets. Sounds like a fantastic time. BTW, I am seriously considering some Lsi15's...

[dorokusai]

A resident Polkie that has stepped up to the plate, many times over the years and hooked a bunch of us up in regards to car rentals for travel....Warlocks1, Jeff.

He has always offered his help.

You rule Jeff and I have goodies for you. Email me.... mln@polkaudio.com