OK, this is not a joke although we will understand if you want to wait for the punch line.
(Spoiler alert: There isn’t one.)
Four Day Weekend, the highly popular and widely acclaimed improvisational comedy group, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).
David Wilk, president and co-founder of Four Day Weekend, accepted the award on behalf of the group on Oct. 8, from Gene Giovannini, Ed.D., chancellor of the Tarrant County College District and a member of NACCE’s Board of Directors. The group’s additional co-founders include: David Ahearn, Troy Grant and Frank Ford.
The NACCE Lifetime Achievement award is presented to an individual or group that has achieved entrepreneurial success and played a pivotal role in the community through involvement and support of civic activities.
“Wilk and this comedy troupe share their success with the community by hosting free shows for local police and fire departments and contributing their time and talents to entertaining members of our armed forces all over the world,” said Giovannini.
Four Day Weekend Comedy Theater is the longest running live show in Fort Worth history. What started as a six-week run in 1997 has become a 21-year-old Fort Worth institution, with more than 650,000 people having seen the troupe perform in its downtown theater.
In addition to four weekly public shows, Four Day Weekend runs a five-level improvisational training center, a corporate communications division, and a television and film division. Wilk, Ahearn and Ford are co-authors of the best-selling book, Happy Accidents.
“Our biggest cause has been supporting our military troops with a program we developed called ‘From Yes Sir to Yes And,’ ” Wilk said in the news release announcing the award. “After being asked by President W. Bush (at a corporate gig) if we would perform a show for the troops, we headlined an Armed Forces Entertainment Tour with shows in Kosovo, Belgium, Germany, England and the Netherlands.
“We were all blown away by the support and appreciation of the military members in the audience. When we returned home, we wanted to continue working with the military, and with the help of our corporate clients, developed the YS2YA program. We partner with Hillwood, (Ross Perot’s Jr. company), Lockheed Martin, and Bell Helicopter to put on these nights for veterans,” Wilk said.
“Four Day Weekend started in Fort Worth and expanded its business model by leveraging opportunities in the local ecosystem,” said Rebecca Corbin, Ed.D., NACCE president and CEO. “Taking risks and adapting to changes in the environment are the true hallmarks of entrepreneurs. Four Day Weekend’s success contributes to a vibrant economy both locally and regionally.”
NACCE is an organization of educators, administrators, presidents and entrepreneurs focused on inciting entrepreneurship in their community and on their campus. NACCE has two main goals: to empower the college to approach the business of running a community college with an entrepreneurial mindset and to grow the community college’s role in supporting job creation and entrepreneurs in their local ecosystem.
This may not come through in print, but we did each of those paragraphs in a different costume and a different voice.
¬– FWBP Staff