Saturday, September 19, 2009

"Are You a Caterer???"

Well, no I am not, but I am a lucky person who has incredible friends who have helped me with not one but two fund raising events for our 3 day walk.
It started like this....
Once upon a time there was a girl who had the idea to put on a WINE WAR. She thought it would be particularly good to make the event even more successful, that there would be a live auction.
She thought long and hard about what she could donate to raise more money than ever to help end Breast Cancer... Hummm she mused, I know, everyone really liked that International Dinner I cooked at Alamo Ranch, I will recreate that! It could be a lot of fun, we will dress up and maybe even the guests will too. Hummmm she continued to muse... I will do it for up to 6 guests... Nah, that isn't special enough, lets make it 8. She thought about her house and how many people it would hold if the winner wanted to hold the party there. 8 was her limit.
But at the wine wars there was a brave and wise group of people who thought to themselves... That sounds like fun, but just imagine, if instead of 8 we invited a hundred! What if we charged them $50 each to go to the 3 day walk. The girl would make much more money and we would have a great time! And so the band of merry party hearties, bid on the item and won it!
They presented the idea to the girl who said, why yes! Of course! That would be a fine idea.
And that is how I found myself, along with most of my team at a beautiful home in San Rafael Friday night. We had an event where, not counting the help, there were 42 people in attendance.
The amount raised for the fight against Breast Cancer was $2300!
I presented a multi course international menu, along with a variety of beers and wines from around the world. A truly excellent band played... Plan "Be".
There are a lot of people to thank but first of all I want to thank Lindy Emrich and Toni Abruzzo for the passion to get this together. Lindy's clients the Klotzs volunteered their beautiful home as the venue. It is actually for sale and in my mind, you could find a better party home.
Most of the evening I was cooking, and serving but I took a break or two to dance and talk to the guests, a couple of whom, had touching stories of survival and a few stories of loss. It was yet another reminder to me of why I was there. All the way to the apple cobbler and hot fudge sundae, it seemed like everyone had a great time. I know we did!Plan "Be" was a fantastic band Toni's husband Gib is lucky to be related to one of the members. so special thanks to GIB! My team members never thought they would be back to Marin to work at yet another party to raise more money. They are the BEST. It was a lot of work I know. I hope they know how much I appreciate it. Finally a special thanks to Susan Gordon, who helped coordinate the donations, the invitations and so much more. That left me to concentrate on the food.
Right now, I am trying to put the house back in order and finish washing the paraphernalia. I am exhausted... but very happy. Happy to see so many people step up to join this fight. Happy to know that with support like this Cancer is going to be a thing of the past. Happy to stand by my friends, laugh, sweat and cry with them through this crazy journey we call the 3 day.
We are only two weeks away. The 3 day has been more like 6 months. A we look to the finish line, its nice to know that our little team has made over $22,000 ! Thanks for everyone who has played a part. Now enjoy the pictures (as soon as Toni sends them to me). It was a great night.

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