by Kathy Ahrendt

Seventy club members had a wonderful time at the annual CVBMC Christmas party December 13, 2022. We had been looking for an event space since April. Most were too expensive and didn’t include catering. After hearing our plight, members Vance and Daisy James came to our rescue by offering their garage to hold the party in. It was a perfect venue with a collection of antique cars, slot cars to race, a driving simulator and a shop full of car parts to drool over.

Our party coordinators, Vicki Outen and Daisy James, did an excellent job getting the room decorated and the long tables set with festive greenery and candles. They found a caterer with reasonable rates and they put on a great buffet and presided over the beverages for the members.

This year we tried something new and asked members to bring a dessert or appetizer to share. It worked out well the have something to nibble on before the buffet opened and the desserts were fantastic. From cookies to pies and creamy chocolate mousse. Everyone found something to satisfy their sweet tooth. Plus we thought ahead and had take-home bags available so the leftovers went to good homes.

After dinner our new president, Nancy Farr, spoke briefly thanking all the members for their attendance and gave out a survey for gathering ideas about meeting times and locations and activities for 2023. Stay tuned to hear about updates to our schedule.

Each year we adopt a charity and raise money for them. In years past we have had auctions, this year we had a raffle for a donated quilt. We sold tickets and also gave members a special chance to get a free ticket if they could tell us the secret word. The word was contained in an email sent out just before the party. A sneaky way to see how many people read their emails! Thanks to all of the members who donated to our charity. We’ll announce the amount shortly.

We’ve heard from many members that this was one of the best events we’ve had and we’ve also heard that the garage is ours again in December 2023. Can’t wait.

(To all of you who ended up with the broken forks – we won’t be buying them for the next party. We learned our lesson – function over pretty!)