Goodbye From the Web Team
The Web Team, from left to right: Todd Lamison, Frank Klassner, Baden Piland, Ashwin Tharappel, Mike McDonald, Brandi Mantz, Mike Gibson
It’s been a blast. The early mornings, late nights, and organized chaos of keeping the jamboree Web site updated and current has all been worth the effort.
Chairman Michael McDonald guided the Web team and kept the rabble under control. In real life, he is a buffalo rancher from New Hampshire, where he volunteers as an air-guitar player for the local symphony orchestra.
Todd Lamison drank root beer and organized daily coverage, taking the point in determining the best places to send our crack video cameramen. At home, he teaches ballet to retired alligator wrestlers.
Frank Klassner is the guy you may have seen rambling all over the jamboree site wearing a pack frame with what looked like a periscope strapped to it. That was the 360-degree camera used to shoot the immersive videos on the Web site. Villanova University loaned him the camera. At home, Frank teaches at Villanova and borrows expensive video equipment.
Ashwin Tharappel was half the Extreme Duo. Ashwin gladly took on any challenge with only an occasional “You want me to do WHAT?” Back in the real world, Ashwin is about to start college, where he will probably bug his new friends as much as he did his old ones during the jamboree.
Baden Piland, the other half of the Extreme Duo, also produced many of the videos on the Web site. With an artist’s eye, he edited the videos and set them to music, making them more than simple video recordings. At home, he breaks girls’ hearts while making his fortune working in the food-service industry.
Brandi Mantz was the director of the Web team. While the other team members did the real work of making the Web site work, it was Brandi’s responsibility to make sure they had whatever they needed to get the job done. In her regular job, she makes violins out of hubcaps she finds beside the road.
Mike Gibson copyedited some of the text on the Web site. If you find any errors, he didn’t get a chance to review that part. In his regular life, he does the same thing—day after day after day after day after day.