Our Volunteers at the 37th Annual Pun-Off

A hard-working crew of Friends of the O. Henry and Dickinson Museum volunteers made the 37th Annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships an outstanding success on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Several thousand people watched the contestants in Punniest of Show and Pun Slingers make puns and twist words into new meanings. The Pun-Off allows the Friends to raise money for its projects and give grants to the Museums.

Janice and Alan Gee, Angero Holt and Terri Schexnayder took on the huge task of collecting, storing, sorting, and/or moving books for this year’s book sale. Auction items were solicited and collected by Janice Gee, Clay Smith, and Bert Piboin. Water, sodas, ice, and refreshments were donated by Rebecca Hawener, Ev Lunning, Janice Gee, Terri Schexnayder, and Clay Leben. Fletcher Clark helped setup tents on Friday. This year’s $2,888 sale earnings and crowd donations were among the best ever.

Of course, the City of Austin, PARD, museum staff put in countless hours organizing and preparing for the Pun-off under the leadership of Museum Curator Melissa Parr and 24-year veteran Pun-Off Producer Gary Hallock. Its all about “Jest for a Wordy Cause.” Gallery pictures by Clay Leben. Thank you to everybody who helped make the 2014 Pun-Off Austintatious! Read more at punoff.com