by Steve Beer
Welcome to the 2013 “Sugarplum Soiree”. On a very cold evening (-7 degrees) over 70 guests warmed up in the ballroom at The Oxford Hotel, with a memorable night of hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a wonderful “year in review” video, dinner and our annual appreciation awards. Molly Heinrich and Nancy Farnham greeted the incoming guests, and after passing through the Silent Auction lobby display, guests entered the ballroom which was protected by numerous Nutcracker statues.
On a cold winter night, it was especially nice to have a covered parking garage and direct access to The Oxford Hotel, without having to brave the elements. Nancy Farnham was the “chief” sugarplum fairy, and she did a great job of coordinating the attendance, decorations, table centerpieces and arranging space for the silent auction. In fact, we had so many new donors and a higher level of participation, that we set an all-time record of raising over $5,000 dollars for the two main causes the club supports: COCC Automotive Studies Scholarship fund and the Deschutes County SkidCar program for high school students.
The Silent Auction fund-raising was coordinated by Ann & Mike Sampson and Judy & Walt Luse. In addition to 21 club members contributing, 23 local businesses that have an affiliation with the High Desert Porsche Club contributed goods and services, ranging from Porsche memorabilia to an eight person dinner catered by executive chef Bill Ballard (Broken Top Club). With a generous contribution from The Oxford Hotel, this was the most money ever raised by the club.
A special thank you goes out to Carrera Motors and German Master Techs for supporting our club and making contributions to our fund-raising. Carrera Motors sponsored the appetizers, donated silent auction goods, and brought eight guests, which helped us meet our minimum catering requirement. GMT donated services and also had the highest bid of $850 dollars for an auction item.
The ballroom was festively decorated for the holidays, making the perfect backdrop for Roger Sanders’ annual “slide show” review of events and places the club has traveled to. It was perfectly coordinated to music, especially the trip to Hood River, where the club stayed at the Columbia Gorge Hotel (frequented by Hollywood stars such as Myrna Loy, Jane Powell, and Shirley Temple), and the coast trip to the Overleaf Lodge & Spa in Yachats. Following Roger’s presentation, dinner was served, accompanied by a warm conversational “buzz” throughout the room.
Mike Sampson and Bren Hirschberg presented the annual awards to members for contributions to the club. In particular, Tim Hagner was presented in absentia the award for serving as club president for three years. Unfortunately, Tim and Sue had committed to a trip to NYC before knowing the dinner date and couldn’t attend. The new club president, Pete Olson, will take over from Tim in January. The awards for 2013 are as follows:
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Category
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Recipient
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Most Enthusiastic
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Walt & Judy Luse
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New Member
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Hack Heyward
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Best Event
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Pete Olson & Jennifer Coughlin
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Sponsor of the Year
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German Master Tech
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OMG Award
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Roger Egle
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Community Service
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Jen & Scott Lauray
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President’s Award
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Mike Sampson
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Past Presidents Award
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Pete Olson
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Special Service Award
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Tim Hagner
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As treasurer, I am always appreciative of what members do on their own to support the club. For example, Nancy Farnham designed and produced the 10 centerpiece decorations that graced our dinner tables, but in the receipts for the event, I know she forgot to include one: A Deschutes Forest Service pass is required for harvesting trees or wood, which according to the ranger, came to $0.03 for the cedar greenery used. I’m disappointed this expense wasn’t turned in!
Again, many thanks to the volunteer club members that put in time and effort to plan and execute the event; the members and businesses that contributed to the silent auction; the members that bid on items that helped set a record for fund raising; and especially to Nancy Farnham for coordinating the 2013 Holiday Dinner Sugarplum Soiree!