Thanks for helping!

There were a lot of people who helped out during the week of the Panorama staff's visit to Amarillo.

While it would be a long blog to thank everyone, here are some of those who did a great job of helping:

• Ann Scamahorn and Daphne's Tours: The week got off to a great start with a tour of the the Amarillo area by Ann. From Route 66 to Cadillac Ranch, we saw it all.

Bill Green and the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum: Bill took time out on a Sunday afternoon to give a tour of the museum and the newspaper exhibit.

Paul Borchardt: Paul made everyone feel extremely welcome at Wonderland and all had a great time on the rides!

Bobby Lee and the Big Texan: Bobby arranged the limo ride and provided a great evening at the iconic restaurant, including a celebrity sighting!

Gary Carpenter, Don Treadway and the American Quarter Horse Association: Gary and Don gave a tour of the museum and AQHA offices and presented each of our guests with a nice coffee table photo book called "The Texas Cowboy."

Mayor Debra McCartt: She spent nearly an hour talking with the staff and translators.

Ali Tiegs and the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts: A great tour of a unique building.

Bill Anderson and the crew at "Texas:" Bill gave a backstage tour and some introductions to the cast. The food was great and the show was wonderful.

Phyllis Payne and the staff at the Ambassador: I heard nothing but good things about the accommodations at the Ambassador. Everyone was extremely nice, courteous and helpful.

The staff at the many restaurants we visited: It takes a little while to translate menus and explain American food. And at most restaurants we split the checks. But everyone was friendly and understanding.

The staff of the Amarillo Globe-News: I know it's very demanding to have people follow you around, discuss important topics and do your day job at the same time. A lot of time was dedicated to the week and the staff at the newspaper went above and beyond the call of duty. Susie Self and Valerie Bintliff helped plan a Friday cookout on our dock that was wonderful. And Steve Adams and Mike O'Connor did some transporting and entertaining.

And there are many others who I have mentioned by name, but I thank you as well.

In the end, I hope we made a difference for those who visited us and for their newspaper.

But this is not the end, four more staff members (along with our two translators) will be here later this year and we'll do it all over again.