How did the event go tonight? (Christmas Party)

FM2 · 12-08-2003, 08:48 PM

I'm sorry I couldn't make the Christmas event tonight but please let the "no shows" know how it went. :smile:

Thanks

[ 12-09-2003, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: skein ]

Woody · 12-08-2003, 09:27 PM

I had a great time. The only problem I have with events like that is, I just don't have enough time to see and talk to everyone!! So many new friends, not enough time. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

The Overfishin Condition · 12-08-2003, 09:31 PM

Yeah a great event for sure. Nice to put faces to names and monikers! Lots and lots of presents, I'm afriad my guess was a little off. Thanks for the shirt GBS!

Kruechief · 12-08-2003, 09:32 PM

Hey Woody,

For a big guy, you really get around! :shocked:

You're quite the little social butterfly.

Krue

[ 12-08-2003, 10:33 PM: Message edited by: Kruechief ]

SalmonNilla · 12-08-2003, 09:33 PM

I just got back home to Eugene from the party and it was a blast. Met some new folks, ate a bunch of pizza, got an ifish hat and some stickers. Thanks Jenny for putting this together. What a mountain of toys too.

Pete · 12-08-2003, 09:45 PM

We filled the room! Lots of people, hundreds and hundreds of toys for the children at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital. Details after sleep.

Thanks to everyone that attended, everyone who contributed and to the Truck-ommittee volunteers. Special mention to Greg Muller, David Logsdon and USF Reddaway trucking. David arranged the truck. Greg volunteered his time to drive it. Thanks to everyone that made this a wonderful evening.

fishisabonus · 12-08-2003, 10:38 PM

This was so incredible to be involved with. I just went down the list the Jennie had posted and we had almost every item on the list. I know cause I got to count EVERYTHING. I got to go thru the bags of goodies one by one!

There were at least 10 walkman type CD players, one larger boom box type CD player. Close to 100 boxes of crayons. Coloring books, paint sets... so many art sets of various types.. I just can't believe it!

Hair clips and bows, lip gloss, fingernail polish, makeup kits (nice ones for older girls), many books for all different age levels, dolls, dolls, and more dolls, and EVEN MORE hotwheels! Socks, lotions, and some lotion/perfume sets. There were at least 3 fishing poles, nerf type footballs and basketballs, and then the sets with the suction hoops.

Playing cards and card and board games!

Many different trucks! Barbies gallore!

More playdough than I have ever seen and I have raised 3 kids past the playdough age and worked in a daycare for more self punishment!

Dinosaurs, blocks, tools sets, did I say bubbles.. one bag alone had 12. Slinkies too! Lego sets too!

Cake and brownie mixes, chocolate chips, frostings and sprinkles!

Now I have been involved with a child doing rehab and many of these things they use as rehab stuff. Blowing bubbles was one of the first things Hannah did after surgery! This is just so incredible that a bunch of fishing buddies can do this for these kids and their familes.

Sally told me that many of the families are financial devastated and really don't have it. She also said that the kids are worried that Santa won't find them and to wake up on Christmas morning and know he did find them...

Okay.. now I am crying. Time for bed.. This elf has had it for one night.

Merry Christmas to all of you guys and gals. Until you have been on the receiving end when you are in there, you really don't know what it means to the families. Thank you all.. for allowing me a chance to give some of that back!

12-08-2003, 10:57 PM

Couldn't have said it better myself Lynda. Just goes to show you what a great group of people we have here on ifish! Events like this are what Christmas is all about!
I would love to see the looks on those kids faces on Christmas morning.
Another great thing was how my good friend AuntyM traveled all the way down here from Harstine Island (Near Shelton) in Washington to be with us.

[ 12-08-2003, 11:59 PM: Message edited by: Stew ]

Jennie@ifish · 12-09-2003, 06:25 AM

Aunty M, you and your hubby are officially invited for a "bed and breakfast" retreat weekend on the Kilchis river with Bill and I and the kids.

I am so sorry I didn't get to spend more time with her. :depressed:

And there are others that I didn't get to talk to much, either. :depressed:

But, it was a good thing! Man, was it fun!

I think I cried a dozen times, until I couldn't walk through the toy area, again!

WOW! That was a lot of toys, and that's all I could say, all night long. "Did you see all of those toys? :smile: :smile: :smile: "

Jen

clearview2u · 12-09-2003, 06:51 AM

The most touching time of the party for me was when Lynda told me the number of toys. She had tears in her eyes. Ya' did a great job.
toni

12-09-2003, 07:16 AM

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Green Willie · 12-09-2003, 07:18 AM

For those of us who couldn't go--can we see pics please?? That would be great.

JN

skein · 12-09-2003, 07:25 AM

Pretty fun stuff! Man, we filled that place to the brim. I'll bet that's the best Monday night they've had in a long, long time.

And the toys! Piles of 'em. Everything you can imagine as Fishisabonus said. Sure would like to see those kids' faces come Christmas morning.

Makes me wish Christmas came around more often. :grin:

This Ifish crowd are a bunch of heroes in my book. They may look like just ordinary fisher-folk, but wow, you ought to see their HEARTS! [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

Skein

OceanBlue · 12-09-2003, 07:31 AM

Awesome! What a crowd! My daughter and I arrived before 5 in hopes of beating the crowd and chowing down early so we could visit.

Ho! There were LOTS of folks already there!

It was great to see the turnout! The little alcove where we placed the gifts was just overflowing. What a wonderful bunch of folks! [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img] I can't wait to do it again next year!

CATCH AND EAT · 12-09-2003, 07:33 AM

Ya now I had a great sense of pride in what all of you did last night. Sincerely impressed by the load of toys and the generosity of each of you that came. Sunday afternoon while I was going through Toys R Us shopping for these kids I kept thinking of the children that will be spending Christmas in a not so terrific place. It really saddened my heart and inspried me at the same time. Just wish I could be there to see these kids faces when Santa arrives to hand out the gifts to them. That's what I mean by inspired. Worth every penny that each of us spent for these kids.

I don't remember the name of the lady that was there to take the toys in last night but I saw a lot of Joy and amazement in her eyes and her expression of gratitude for what i-fish has done for the kids definitly gushed forth. Made me proud to be just a little part of this event.

Thank you all for giving so much this year. Over 800 toys!!!! WOW!!!!! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Jennie, this is an awesome group of generous folks. Thanks for doing something great like this. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone. :smile:

crabbait · 12-09-2003, 07:43 AM

Now THAT was a great time! Thanks to all who attended and to those who could not attend but sent gifts and donations anyway.

Nice to see all of you again and to meet some new people. Thanks for the shirts, GBS. What an awesome deal.

A BIG thank you to Jennie for making this happen and for the very thoughtful moderator gift. You really did not have to do that.

Merry Christmas to all the little kids that we did not get to see. I hope our gifts help you on your way to many more.

KingFisher85 · 12-09-2003, 07:49 AM

We all did pretty good last night! We had way more toys then last year! WAY MORE! I get a kick out of doing that! Can't wait till next year.
Sure wish we could get in on giving the toys to the kids.

Thanks Tilla for the gift :grin: and thanks stew for the jigs

hookumhi · 12-09-2003, 08:07 AM

I wish I could have made the party . I am new to the club and look forward to meeting new fisher people. Is there another gathering in the near future?? I would love to meet yall,any group that gets together to benefit kids and fishing I feel good to know and become part of . Also is there any more toy donations neede for that event??

Green Willie · 12-09-2003, 02:10 PM

Thanks for the photos Pete. Makes a grown man cry. My son spent three days in pediatric ICU in that hospital about 10 years ago. Great people there, and great kids. It's an honor to be associated with all of you!

JN

greenbuttskunk · 12-09-2003, 02:14 PM

That Reddaway driver Doug, I swear that was Phil Knight from Nike :shocked: boy, that was a fun. evening. I sold all the extra shirts I printed in record time. Thanks you all for the support and interest. I wish I could have had more time to meet other ifishers, but I did get to know your money. :grin:
Seriously, that was a blast, the amount of toys
(804) blew me away, and when we got to the hospital the woman who met us to help unload was just floored and touched with the quantity and quality of all the goodies. It was pretty cool! I was glad we were in a hospital though, just in case. We all carried bags of toys about 2 miles through the maze of basement tunnels till we got to where they would be stored. It was some good excercise!
Looking forward to next year. Maybe 1000 toys!
GBS

Smily · 12-09-2003, 04:13 PM

Way to go guys!!! You missed out FM2. It was a great time had by all. Good Pizza and good people to spend an evening with and all for a good cause. :grin:

:smile: Smily :smile:

fishisabonus · 12-09-2003, 04:33 PM

We will beat 1000 toys next year, I have no doubt whatsoever!! I was really tired all day today and had to drag my elf rear end to work anyway. I got guff from NOT ONLY the folks in my office, but the management of the building our office is in for not bringing the IFISH toy drive to their attention.

Several of my friends told me to "shut up cause I was making them cry" and then added "I will help next year".

Ifish is growing and if people just talk about this alittle.... we could be helping that hospital out year round with just a little generousity and effort once or twice a year.

I was lucky enough that Jennie let me spend $100 of the money the Salty Dogs got together. I had more fun spending that money than I do shopping for my own kids.

I think the best part for me is knowing the toys ARE delivered to where we intended. I have ideas about next year already and can't wait to put them into motion.

Can't help but say: I luv ya Jennie! Your giving heart has touched so many people. You give so much of yourself to ifish, there are no words to describe it. We are all just a little bit richer because we know you. [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

finnman · 12-09-2003, 06:39 PM

The event was great. Wow! Lots of toys. My wife and son had a great time as well. I want to give a shout out to greenbuttskunk and his wife Meredeth(sp?) for the nice conversation. Wyatt sure is a cutie. I'm betting it won't be long before my son (Zach) and Wyatt will be out there rippin lips and showin up their dads. Thanks Jenny for putting in the time and effort for such a great cause. Ifish does a lot of great things and this event is one of the best. Way to go to everyone. Happy Holidays! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

All smiles,
Finnman

Rocky · 12-09-2003, 06:58 PM

This is cool...way to go every one.

skrimmy · 12-09-2003, 07:25 PM

Well said everbody! That was a great event last night for an even greater cause. Looking forward to next year. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

elkaholic · 12-09-2003, 08:46 PM

This being my first ifish social, I was very impressed, and excited for the kids. Food was great too!

Thanks Jen and the crew!!

Navigator · 12-09-2003, 10:11 PM

Yes, great event all around. Glad to be a part of it and meet some Ifishers in the process.

to you Jen. Enjoyed meeting your folks.

Pete · 12-09-2003, 11:25 PM

I didn't get many picture of the party. Hope to see more from the party, but here's what I did get.

Pietro's before the party with my kid's hand.

Pietro's full of people.

Doug, the driver from USF Reddaway who donated his time to help us out.

The loot in the Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital Lobby.

The remnants of the Truck-omittee crew who loaded and unloaded the truck ... say "cheese"!

Thanks to everyone who contributed toys ... Sally Kirchoff from Emanuel kept saying over and over how thankful she is for the smiles the toys will bring to their kids. Merry Christmas everyone!

[ 12-09-2003, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: Pete ]

Ryan Pultz · 12-10-2003, 03:38 AM

What a great night for a great cause. Got to put some faces to the people i have been talking. Great night to everyone that put this together Thank you rp

greenbuttskunk · 12-10-2003, 06:52 AM

Finnman,
It was nice to meet you, sorry I did not have more time to talk fishing. My Wife did enjoy talking with you two, and yes, maybe our boys will be rippin' some lips one day. Drop me a PM and let's go fishing sometime.
Brad

Thumper · 12-10-2003, 09:07 PM

Dang! :depressed: Sorry I was out of town and missed it. Great job guys and gals!!!

Tilla · 12-11-2003, 08:40 AM

Good times thats for sure!

Thumper- Sure you were outta town. You were really afraid of all the Carbs that lurk there!

kayakfisher · 12-11-2003, 07:59 PM

I was disappointed to have gotten there just as the truck pulled out...got stuck at work....

But I need to thank someone, whoose name I don't know, who took the toys my three boys and I bought to the hospital...behind the truck I guess.

Hopefully I will be able to be there earlier next year...and meet some of you folks with all your fishing wisdom which I have enjoyed reading and trying benefit from this first year on ifish.

thanks for all your wisdoms...and have a safe holiday season.

M.

kayakfisher · 12-11-2003, 08:00 PM

Ooops...

And thanks to Jennie for being the catalyst for the toy drive, and for all the work on this great site.

M