25th Anniversary
2005

To help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Milwaukee Irish Fest, The Irish American Post will be running stories on some of the many volunteers who help make the world's largest Irish cultural event such a success. These features will appear in The Post over the next few months.

Jerry McCloskey
Mr. Money Man Helps Fest Secure Financial Footing
 

Jerry McCloskey had just been transferred by American Can Company from St. Paul to Milwaukee to fill the financial and marketing position at Americology and eventually moved over to Miller Brewing Company. "I thought it would be a good idea to enroll in an urban planning class at Marquette University," he recalled. The first class night, he sat next to Chuck Ward who told about a group of Irish folks meeting regularly at Mr. Guinness pub in West Allis to talk about someday starting an Irish music and cultural festival.

"At the time, Bill Hanrahan was the group¹s treasurer and Ed Ward was the
leader of the pack. Today, the success story is known throughout the States.
and even beyond," he pointed out.

McCloskey went on to become festival treasurer and president. He initiated a designated drivers program involving Miller Brewing Company and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving.). He also developed the program to offer complimentary tickets for the physically impaired. 

"As part of the original board's direction, we decided that we wanted a board which not only filled their positions but also would be accountable for certain areas of responsibility for the festival. We, the original board of directors, decided to include personal expertise from our "day jobs," in recruiting volunteers. Today, that method has proved successful and is still in place," said McCloskey.

Although McCloskey has not been as involved with the fest for the past few years because he currently lives outstate, he still does stage announcements when he and his wife are in town for the festival. "In the years that I have been gone, I have noticed great things happening. But as you know, it is the direction given by the board, the planning, the volunteers and especially the direction and effort put forth by (executive director) Jane Anderson which makes Milwaukee Irish Fest the best in the world. The diversity of entertainment, cultural and fusion of Irish with other styles is notable."

McCloskey said he was more concerned with budgetary control, financial decisions made by the board. The day-to-day control was the festival's executive director responsibility. John Maher was in control of the banking operations. "My only involvement was that I controlled the vendor operations which worked on a commission basis, usually based on sales. As far as how many volunteers in the beginning, it was just me. As the years went by, we added people to the vendor operations," he recalled.

"My biggest challenge as treasurer was to bring to the board sound recommendations to help us succeed financially. I really pushed the ‘save for a rainy day theme.’ During my time as president I was more of a captain trying to steer the ship in the right direction.

The board set a budget by category, according to McCloskey. Funds were deposited into a checking account. Checks were written for approved expenditures and financial reports were reviewed by the board at the monthly meeting, comparing actual expenses to budget numbers by category. This process started immediately and the review was done monthly. At the end of the festival year, final financial reports would be prepared and sent to Wolff & Company (through Jerry Hegarty } for auditing. The firm would perform the audit and would prepare a financial accounting audit report and issue it to the Irish Fest board, he explained.

"I am very proud to have been associated with such an extraordinary group of individuals. There are too many people to thank personally but on a collective basis but I wish a happy 25th anniversary to all who helped get the festival up and running," McCloskey concluded.