User talk:32.218.39.192

Hello! I'm pat mAcdonald (pmAcd333), a founder and current organizer (creative director) of Steel Bridge Songfest. I'm also the president of CFOB, the non profit that hosts the event. Until i received notification today, i was stupidly unaware of the Wikipedia's "conflict of interest" policy. I mistakenly thought it was within my duties to act in the interest of the festival and CFOB, to update and correct erroneous Wiki entries and such.

I've been duly corrected. But the Steel Bridge wiki page still needs correcting.

There's a difference between creating a festival solely to raise funds, or doing it mostly to win hearts and minds. As it turns out, it was the hearts and minds that saved our bridge and got the state to pay for the rehab, not the meager funds we were able to raise. I would never have devoted my life to a "fundraiser" - I was in it to prove that music has the power to change the world, or at least a small corner of it.

All our promotion at the time used the phrase "to raise awareness and funds." As creative director, i constantly insisted that "awareness" precede "funds" in the promo blurbs (in order of priority). It was a PR struggle, with the local press and the city government (as well as some vocal locals) against us at first. Through the songs that were written and continue to be written specifically for the event (we've just released Steel Bridge Songs Vol.13) we created an appreciation for the bridge that wasn't there before. Or wasn't there as strong. This is why it's important that we NOT give the false impression that the festival was/is solely a fundraiser. Please go to steelbridgesongfest.org for more info if you're interested. Thanks for your good work with Wikipedia and your pursuit of the truth about Steel Bridge! :) Yours, pmAcd