November 26, 2003

 

The Pompano Beach Exchange Club celebrated Thanksgiving Eve with a full house at The Pit.  We had a lot to be thankful for as snowbird Frank Labirdy led off with the Pledge and the rarely seen Pike Rowley delivered a special holiday Blessing.  Bill Sullivan's son-in-law Michael Tullis and Art Graham's son Michael were the guests. 

 President Leon announced that he has issued an Executive Order changing next week's meeting date to Tuesday, December 2nd knowing full well, of course, that the membership will not remember his edict.  By Executive Order the following announcement is to appear in bold print in this week's Cuff:  NEXT WEEK'S MEETING WILL BE ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND INSTEAD OF WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD.  The program for the December 10th meeting will be the hidden video of all the members showing up for the non-meeting on December 3rd.  The reason for the unprecedented change of date for the luncheon meeting is the upcoming annual 150 charity fundraiser which was also changed to a Tuesday to accommodate the LHPYC, the new venue for the event.  Ticket Master Tad Williams requested a change of date so we could have one last meeting to move any tickets remaining unsold the day of the event, as unlikely as that may seem.    Tad has requested that if any member has any tickets that he could not sell, please let him know as soon as possible in order to avoid last minute sales as much as possible.  If you find that you need more tickets, call Tad or his secretary Pat Goff.

 Setup for the 150 event begins Monday evening at 6:30 at the Lighthouse Point Yacht & Racquet Club.  The 150 banner, completed thanks to the artistry of Laurie Rowley and Paul Zalesky, will be installed with the numbers that evening.  Setup for the silent auction will begin after the lunch meeting on Tuesday so we are working with a pretty tight window.  If you have signed up to help or have not and want to, please be there and pitch in. 

 Ranger Don Dare reported that the road trip to the Seaquarium with the Dynamos was a gigantic success thanks to the detailed planning by Nick Likourgou and the help of eight accompanying XC members with four of their wives and two children/grandchildren.  The seventeen Dynamos making the trip were treated to a very special day.

 John Ghee  reminded the Club that we have adopted the children of Bravo Company, 1/124th Infantry Brigade of the Florida National Guard as our Brave Kids in OBK.  CNN has recently featured this unit, also now known as the "Ghost Squad", in its new reports of the combat in Iraq.  This unit sleeps during the day and hunts insurgents throughout the night in the most hostile neighborhoods in Iraq.  Their new unit motto is "Weekend Warriors my ass".  We are proud to support them and their families.  John also reported that OBK is donating a turkey to each OBK family as a special distribution in November and Rick Shaw and his radio station will be donating an extra $50.00 per Brave Kid in December.

 Club member Tom DiGiorgio invited all to visit the Pompano Beach Saturday Green Market open each Saturday from 8AM to 1PM at the corner of Flagler and NE 1st Street in old Pompano.  This outdoor market open for the last month features farm fresh, natural produce, fruits and specialty items as well as fun and entertainment for the whole family.  Don’t squander Saturday morn on toons and such - take the family to the Green Market and be a hero yourself.

 Sunshine reported that Don Parrish became a gramps this Wednesday morning with the birth of his very first grandson.  Congrats to Don and Bonnie.  Fred Bamman was the double secret shaking man who nominated Bob Parks for the free lunch after a lengthy campaign speech - lengthy being the operative word here.  Chuckles McLaughlin was pot winner and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, donated the funds to the Club's charity account. 

 Did you know that the first Thanksgiving took place in the New England colony of Plymouth in the Fall of 1621 after half the colony died during the previous Winter.  George Washington established Nov. 26 as a day of national thanksgiving in 1789 and President Lincoln changed it to the last Thursday in November in 1863.  Congress changed it again to the fourth Thursday  in November in 1941.  Its no wonder that some members have a hard time remembering when Thanksgiving is.  Those of you that do, have a wonderful holiday and enjoy the family.

 DON’T FORGET - NEXT WEEK'S MEETING IS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND AT THE PIT.  BRING CHECK FOR THE 150 TICKETS.