Our Emcee Crew for Pun-Off 2003

JOEL McCOLL is returning for his 17th year as our cornerstone emcee. A
singer/songwriter/associate publisher of a golf magazine and all around
swell fella, Joel began competing in the Pun-Off in 1981 when the winner was
judged on the amount of beer consumed. He thinks he won that year but no
one remembers. Joel is looking forward to 3 more years with the Pun-Off at
which time he can take the ankle bracelet monitor off. Once he's fulfilled
his community service obligations, Joel will be returned to the wild where
he will be allowed to run amok with his own kind, assuming anyone like him
can be found. Anyone like him?

GARY HALLOCK says he keeps returning to produce and host this event because he doesn't know any better. Until someone better actually volunteers to fill his shoes (with cement) we'll be stuck with him and the many hats he must wear to engineer this event. Speaking of engineering, Gary wears his
trademark railroad cap to remind himself to stay on track and conduct
himself professionally. This begs the question, "If he's so good at
conducting, wire we always seeing him get insulate?" This is Gary's 13th
year as a Pun-Off emcee and head of the support group for the jeering
impaired, Punsters United Nearly Yearly. Many P.U.N.Y. members
infectionately refer to him as their "Leerless Feeder." You can PUNish him
at garyhallock@mac.com.

STEVE BROOKS can rightly lay claim to being the world's first professional
punster. His victory in the 2001 P.O.S., a send-up of George W. Bush, led to
a trip to Hollywood to appear on TV's "I've Got A Secret," where he won
$1,000. That's just one of the four first place trophies in P.O.S. and two in HL&LP he's taken home since 1992. This will be Steve's 6th year of emcee duty, as the big wheel continually threatens to re-tire but keeps ir-rotating us with more. A well-known Austin songwriter, his new CD, "Fever," is a collection of Texas peace songs. You can hear some of the songs at <www.stevebrooks.net> and read some of his championship monologues from Pun-Offs past.

...nad a post script fom Kirk Miller as he mourns the retirement of Joel Mcoll from the PUN-OFF scene.

On Behalf Of
Kirk Miller
As I drove back home today (Sunday), I wrote these limericks regarding
Joel McColl's retirement as emcee at the Pun-off after 20 years:

"Our emcee we lost, and I'm pissed,"
I said as I slammed down my fist.
If ever you fly,
Like fog in the sky,
You'll know that McColl's soarly mist.

To emcee on stage is enthralling,
But choosing the Pun-off's appalling.
When we asked Joel why,
With a wink of his eye,
He replied, "I suppose it's McColling."

He's made his decision. Shoot,
I guess that the point is moot.
And surely we've learned
That Joel has earned
A twenty-one pun salute.

After twenty long years of this stuff,
His demeanor's still nice, never gruff.
So cut Joel some slack,
And perhaps he'll come back.
After all, he's been pun-ished enough.

-- Kirk Miller