Another quality Serb Fest in the books!  TR 2023 did not disappoint!  Let’s start with the stellar weather… Mid to Upper 70’s all weekend, not a drop of rain.  It was perfection, without doubt.  While we missed a few key faces, we still managed to set a Second Generation (post-1998) attendance record with 49 attendees!  We also inadvertently had the most cevapcici on hand (540) since 2005 where we brought a ridiculous 850 for just 19 attendees!  I blame Jovan for that egregious overestimation!  We still went home with several dozen cevap this year, but it was sure nice to not have to ration the supply to get through the weekend!  With the absence of our Chief grillman, Rishi, someone had to step it up this year.  While several people did help out, OLAF did much of the heavy lifting behind the grill.

With many of the kids getting older, we noticed two things – They disappeared for longer periods of time…. And they still love being playing in the big cage (tennis courts)!  We didn’t exactly take the leap and hand over grilling responsibilities, but their time will come!  Saturday’s hike was beautiful, though slightly abbreviated due to the closure of a portion of trail that led to the ladders.  While the kids were a bit disappointed by this, I think many of the adults were slightly relieved that we’d avoid the risk of repeating the ‘bowling ball Joe’ incident of 2022.  Sunday’s float down Sugar Creek was perfect as well, with the exception of maybe a few boats getting a bit ahead of the group.  I suppose, the bigger the group, the harder it is to keep together as a giant conglomerate… we try though… we try!   While the Boskovic’s and Koechling’s departed late Sunday afternoon, we were surprised by a brief appearance from Amy Lund, who was unable to join for the entire weekend due to a wedding in Ohio.  But she simply couldn’t resist making at least a brief appearance for a beer and a cevap as she passed through Indiana on her way back to Illinois!  While schedules can get tough for many of us and some (including me) are forced to make some concessions on arrival or departure times, the efforts made by all to continue this tradition are truly appreciated!

Big congratulations are in order for the 2023 recipient of the Jovan Zelenkovich Memorial Golden Cevapcici Award!  Joe E has brought an infectious energy to Serb Fest since his first appearance in 2017.  He’s contributed countless quotes and memorable moments and inspired the introduction of the new ‘badge’ system prior to TR 2023, particularly the ‘Triple Crown’ badge, which honors 3 near-death experiences in a single Serb Fest.  (Reference TR 2022)  With his handlebar moustache, Joe was also instrumental this year in securing our grill site each morning as early as 5:30a and was among the last to stick around at night to help clean up and haul trash to the dumpsters.  He was a true MVP this year and the award not only reflects this, but his contributions across his 4 trips to Serb Fest.  We look forward to sharing many more weekends with this fine, but trashy man.  To round out our awards for 2023, congratulations are also in order for Carter Berger, securing his 3rd straight Cevapcici Consumption award and 6th overall!  He came out of the gate hot, consuming 15 cevapcici on Friday night, pushing himself to near booting…. But he held them down, an impressive feat for a man of his stature.  Pound for pound, that pace exceeded that of BS’s legendary 50 consumed 20 years ago in 2003!  Nice work Carter!  OLAF presented me (Scott) with the Intellectual of the Year Award, a first for me.  I’m truly honored and hope I would make the Award’s namesake, Vince Kus, proud!  And finally, Rookie of the Year honors go to Tyler Wagner.  This young man showed great spirit and energy all weekend and seemed to really enjoy all that Serb Fest had to offer.  He caught my attention on Saturday early in the hike and he was a real stand out among one of our larger fields of Rookie attendees in recent years.  Congrats to Tyler and the Wagner family!

BOSKOVIC FAMILY
Dan Boskovic
Deborah Boskovic	19
Danica Boskovic	16
Ivana Boskovic	14
STEVANOVIC FAMILY
DANILOVIC FAMILY
ZELENKOVICH FAMILY
Scott Berger	26 (28)
Julie Berger	19
Grant Berger	14
Carter Berger	12
OLAF	23(24)
Julie L	16
Sara L	16
Jack L	15
Jimmy L	12
Jeff Heitzman	21 (22)
Amy Heitzman	12
Ethan Heitzman	9
Riley Heitzman	5
Jeff Berger	19 (20)
Erin Berger	13
Eloise Berger	10
Hazel Berger	9
Graham Berger	5
Dave R	17
Bryanne R	14
Adeline R	12
Louis R	10
Erich Mann	8
Lauren Mann	8
Henry Mann	7
Vivienne Mann	4
Joe E	5
Vikki E	5
Maddie E	5
Joey E	5
Kurt Landwehr	3
Darah Landwehr	3
Charlotte Landwehr	3
Susannah Landwehr	3
Everett Landwehr	3
Bill Wagner	1
Erin Wagner	1
Tyler Wagner	1
Nathan Wagner	1
XX (YY) :: XX Indicates # of trips to Serb Fest, YY Indicates total # of trips to Turkey Run
* Indicates a Demerit that has resulted in -1 Trips

2022, the year of ‘Bowling Ball Joe’ - Julie
Better than the year of ‘Impaled on a Log Joe’ - Joe

I’m not Olaf, I don’t have hair on my knuckles…. Except my moose knuckles… Scott

I didn’t expect to be two-fisting before noon, but here we are! - Joe 

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