The Event of a Lifetime

I have been thinking about how I was going to put into words one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am still speechless ( I know, I know hard to believe) and am going to do my best to tell you all about the evening and all things leading up to it.

A few months ago I was telling Charlene that I would like to do a benefit for her. I asked a lot of people for ideas and ran a few past Charlene. If you know Charlene she was not too keen on having attention drawn to her. One thing lead to another and what started out as a small benefit turned into the event of a LIFETIME. I am so THANKFUL for the Clares who stepped up and took the reins and made this event so successful. You guys are truly a gift from God. They began a "Team" and from this "Team Charlene" was born. I also need to Thank Bill and Vonda Guttery they are an amazing couple and put their heart and soul into everything they do. I also need to Thank my FAMILY, I know that you had to make sacrifices and at times probably felt neglected, thank you for being so understanding. If I was to thank everyone who made this event a success I would probably exceed my allotted space. Not only did we reach our GOAL we DOUBLED it. Here are some pics from the Event and some from the night before where we ran on no sleep, lots of adreline and fueled by JUNK FOOD !!! Here is the rundown of crap I threw down me over the course of the week: 4 bags of chocolate covered peanuts, 1 bag of chocolate covered raisins, 1/2 box of Mother's Butter Cookies, 2 boxes of Runts, 1 bag of Candy Corn, 1 bag of mini mint 3 musketeers and a few cases of diet soda.


On Saturday morning at 7:00am a group of us headed over the hall to begin setting up. This is what it looked like when we arrived

After we got everything set up and the final touches done this is what it looked like when we left to go home and get ready for the night. There were so many donations. They were still coming in the door as we setting up. I can't believe the support and how a community came together to make this a success.

Here is the scene from the eyes of someone who was truly stunned, amazed, overwhelmed and teary eyed.

We had BBQ beef, baked beans, coleslaw and rolls. The food was really good. At one point the line for food was out the door. Although the line was long it moved really fast. Here is what we ate, after it was all over, Erica and I were wishing we had some more. I thought they were keeping the drive through window open late????
Here are some of the people who helped make this so successful. This is by no means all the people that made the night so successful. But poor planning on my part left me with a dead battery half way into the night. (so I stole some pics from the blogging world)
l to r: Stephanie, Erica, Me, Donna and Jana.
l to r: Sarah,Katie, Me, Erica Vonda, Stacey and Lauren.

Vonda and I were know as the "ondas" Whenever someone called our name, we would both answer.

Here is some of the Team with a little VICTORY TREAT. All that hard work we were hungry, besides I think it had been 3 hours since by body had sugar and it was starting to detox. That could have been pretty ugly. I now have to pick a day to detox I will send out a world wide public service announcement so consider yourself warned.

The guest of honor and her husband. Two of my favorite people. Bet Curt is getting jealous that Charlene can grow hair. I think he was starting to like the twinsie look.


Two of the Greatest People in the World. Charlene you have touched the lives of so many people and have been an inspiration to everyone. Thank you for showing me the real meaning of a HERO. Erica---- Your the best Wingman a girl could have.

I don't know what you think but I think WE ROCKED THE CASBAH !!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. Check out Charlene's and Erica's blog for their version, they tell it better than me. Both posts bring me to tears.