I was on a committee that hosted a big sports event every year for 20 years. We volunteered for various reasons. Some were retired looking to keep busy, others were looking to give something back to the cause that had been good to them or their kids. The best parts were the preparation meetings which always involved beer and food, and the lasting friendships that grew from the meetings and laughs. Everyone did their duties between meetings so when the event arrived we were ready. The event itself was full on, continuous hard work. There were enough brains in the room to make suggestions at the debrief for improvements the next year.
The only times committee members became disheartened were the two years we surveyed people looking for feedback. Bad move. Only the whiners respond, often using terms like old boys' club and transparency.
Honour your sponsors and committee members with a fiesta of some sort and a bit of swag; don't count the number of times people thank you (it won't be enough); look to yourselves to make improvements you feel are needed when you have the resources; recruit a few more people, but don't take the ones who sound like hockey mom's asking for the ref's whistle; and keep doing it for the fishery, the fish, and the fun. Avoid paying anyone; it can fester if you go beyond food, drink, a shirt/hat, and a handshake. Grow your next leaders from within a veteran committee, so people can step back when life gets in the way. Always ignore the whiners. Keep going.