So what does a Fire Truck, a Bart Simpson Cake Pan, an Antique Book and a Margarita Glass all have in common???

How about an Anniversary Party like None Other!????

With over 60 people in the reservation list, our hopes for the evening were more than surpassed!! It started out well as folks trailed into the banquet room - having to pass an open door and loud Mardi Gras party next door by a local Harley Davidson club! We were proud that even tho the swinging music, and great costumes were attractive, our dedicated members didn't abandon us, and we made a pact with ourselves that we all were going to have JUST as MUCH fun as they were!!

Brian started out the meeting with a few words to talk about the past year, and the exciting and fun times we had with all!! Chris announced our speaker, and we spent the next 20 minutes listening to our guest from Rondel Magazine: Paul Duchene. We learned that Isetta's tend to occasionally roll over like little bowling balls, and that despite such unseemly behavior, they're still a great investment. We learned a little about current BMW ownership statistics, and that those of us who own BMW's own them because of their quality. Well, is that a surprise? We thank Paul for coming and sharing his point of view and experiences with us!!

Once Paul was done speaking, we had a great dinner, and prepared to setup for the Auction. Earlier many people from our club walked in with their White Elephant items, we had an incredible selection to choose from, including a BMW Hub Cap, a set of Margerita glasses, a Bart Simpson cake pan... just to name a few!!

Chris introduced the Raphael House (woman's shelter) as the purpose for the fund raising, and then introduced Cam Scott, our intrepid auctioneer! The party went wild at that point, and many people who have never particpiated in an auction thoroughly enjoyed themselves and bought every single last item that was sitting on the table!!!

In the Middle of it all, we notice a fire alarm going off. Not 5 minutes later... a FRANTIC catering manager runs in - interrupts Cam in the middle of one of the auctions, and recommends... loudly... that we all leave the building.  Most of us grabbed our bags, and just ran up the exit stairs at the far end of the hall.

Turns out that the problem was a smokey air conditioning unit, which was shut down, and not much longer than about 40 minutes, and we were back into the hall, and finishing out the auction.

We learned we sold a little more than $600 dollars to benefit the Raphael House!!

Next up... the raffle!! But FIRST a little Birthday Business!! (HEY Bruce, you're only young once!!)

Once the birthday soiree was done, we finished up the evening with dessert and a GREAT Raffle. Many folks had left, and we figured we could have the raffle, if someone with a ticket has left, we would find a way to get their winnings to them - but strangely enough every single ticket pulled had a club member in the room!

All folks were happy, full, and had armfuls of goodies from our benefactors, and we are thankful to them all!!