Dear Friends,
Aloha! I’ve just returned from a trip to Hawaii, via the Upper Hall, and it was a warm, colorful and tropical trip. I hope you were along for the ride, but if you weren’t, you missed a really lively and fun evening together over Hawaiian Pizza Bingo! Guests were transported to the tropics upon arrival with Geoff McConnell and Pam Bennett checking people in and giving out the traditional leis. Ed Kellogg lulled us to serenity with his ukelele and beach music and helped us to picture sand, palm trees and a colorful sunset. Everyone looked amazing and colorful in their Hawaiian shirts and accessories.
Tom Riley and Ed Kellogg were our rad Bingo hosts for the evening and made sure everyone went home with a prize (or three) and even gave out some big-ticket items like tickets to the Iron Pigs and Phantoms (thank you to Rob Butch for donating), and gift cards worth $25, $50 and more to Ludwig’s Grill, Limoncello, Brickside Grille, Destination Salon & Spa, Amazon, Liberty Union (thank you to Lee Johnson for donating) and WaWa. Geoff and Pam did an amazing job procuring donations from several of these businesses to make our gift card prizes really robust and worth some competitive Bingo playing! Many people came together to donate delicious desserts and fabulous prizes both old and new and some highly desirable $10 gift cards to Carmine’s, WaWa, and Starbuck’s.
A big event like this requires the work of many hands. A big thanks to all of you for donating desserts, drinks, prizes, decorations, and your time and talent. Your donations are such a blessing to all of us and make the St. Andrew’s tradition of Pizza Bingo a success and lots of fun. Special shout outs go to a few key players, however. Big thanks go to Irene Castagna for her artistry and creativity. Without her, our Upper Hall wouldn’t have been transformed into a Hawaiian oasis. Thank you for all of your wall hangings, thoughtful collage of Hawaiian information and maps, and all of your help decorating the hall with me Irene! Working with you makes these events really fun! Thank you to Cherie and Jim Pudleiner for helping to set-up all of our prizes and to Jim for picking up the pizza. You made the tables look really good! Tom Riley and Ed Kellogg for their creative and fun Bingo calling that kept the night rolling along. Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm Tom and Ed! Thank you to Jeff Herrera who couldn’t make it this year but graciously pulled all of the tables and chairs and did all the set-up heavy lifting. Thank you to my husband Will Sanders for doing all the little things including helping me make our salad. He graciously accepted the job of cutting onions, which brought Will to tears. He moved tables, took out trash, assembled decorations and hauled many supplies in from the parking lot. He is my right-hand man in everything. Thank you to Libby and John Eblacker, Ken and Mary Louise Mancini, and Jess Gallo for helping to clean-up (and so many others who chipped in too). Thank you to Meg Sebastianelli for donating a lot of the Hawaiian decorations that made the room transform! It all came together beautifully.
As always, we need coffee hour hosts, so please sign-up to help host a coffee hour. It is simple but goes a long way to create fellowship among our members. See the sign-up outside the Upper Hall or click here.
In your service,
Julia Sanders
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