Camp Good Days and Special Time's Dinner and Live Auction

Saturday night was an evening to remember! Jim and I volunteered to help Camp Good Days and Special Times at their Wine Dinner and Live Auction last Saturday night. This is a cause we feel strongly about and it was made even more poignant with the sudden passing of my friend and coworker, Steve, 2 weeks ago from cancer. Jim and I both lost our fathers to cancer and my uncle is currently in hospice. Yes, Gary, we too would like to see a cure for cancer in our lifetimes.

Last Thursday we began by attending the training on what we would need to do as wine ambassadors. We learned we would each be responsible for a table of guests; bringing them wines and helping them with their bids! We were nervous and a bit apprehensive of the unknown.

Saturday dragged until we left the house at 3:00 to head to the Rochester Plaza Hotel downtown. As soon as we arrived, signed in and received our aprons and boas, we were whisked away on a tour by Chris Van Zile (that's what she does!) and we learned our positions for the evening.

Job #1 was to man pouring station #5. We were located in the main dining room (see the beautiful photo of the classy set-up) We had a lot of fun pouring wine for silent auction bidders, especially because the wines at our station were of the raspberry, honey/mead, hard cider varieties. (Tough sell, but had fun doing it). Then we grabbed our bottle of the Best of the Show Chardonnay - Prejean's 2007 Reserve Chardonnay and a red (we both took great Cab Sauv's) and lined up for the grand entrance of the wine ambassadors (I SHOULD have taken a picture of Jim dancing with his boa wrapped around his neck!). Campers from Camp Good Days formed a drum line signaling the opening of the dinner event and our entrance. We danced to our tables and got ready for...

Job#2 and the main job for the rest of the evening! To make sure our table was happy and enjoying themselves and bidding on the fabulous items for the live auction. How about a 2 week stay at your own private villa in Argentina? Or an Executive MBA Program Scholarship at RIT? Not academic? What about touring the Finger Lakes in your own private turbine jet helicopter? Or joining the pit crew at Watkins Glen Race track? If you were merely thirsty you had many opportunities to bid on cases of award winning wines, library wines, wine and food pairings and dinners and many, many more fabulous items. As the evening wound down (around midnight), the wine ambassadors and other volunteers were all treated to pizza and gold medal wines, a band playing, and a chance to connect with others and re-live the evening!

We met so many new friends, and felt so privileged to be a part of contributing to such a worthy cause. We soon discovered our fears and anxieties were for naught as we were among a great group of individuals. It was truly an honor to be a part of this wonderful evening.

We got home late, but Maggie waited up for us - sort of!

PS I understand we broke all records! Bidders were so generous that there will be many more children forgetting their illness' for a while and enjoying Camp Good Days and Special Times this summer.