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2nd Annual TRC Awards Banquet & Auction

Wow! What a night to remember for The Right Connection!

A banquet fit for a king, awards galore and, who would have thought that an auction would be such a winning idea!? In a few - all too brief - hours TRC and agency members, friends and family were fed, entertained, honored and relieved of enough cash to keep the organization afloat for another year!

Many thanks to many folks beginning with Juanita Littlepage for facilitating the use of The Faith Center's beautiful facility! Thanks to Juanita, Melissa Nowlin, Mary Ann Driscoll, Debb McClary, Adell Wearley and Teri and Kay Barkley for setting the stage for the evening events. Thanks to Mary Williams for her time and generosity in preparing another bountiful feast. Thanks to Greg Nowlin, Adam McLeod and Mick McClary for their showmanship and talent for squeezing every last penny out of auction bidders. Thanks to EVERYONE for their gracious generosity!

Our banquet Buffet-a-la-Mary boasted breads and pastries, cold cuts and cheese, fried chicken, fruit punch and more kinds of salad than anyone could hope for. (So, I ended a sentence with a preposition - fire me and write your own articles!)

Award presentations:

The Right Connection is pleased to have been host to the new Regional Administrator, Cory Costello, who enjoyed the evening and generously bid in the auction. Welcome, Cory! We were also happy to see that friends and family members of our group - that includes agency personnel - came and enjoyed the festivities!

Moving on to the auction... we found ourselves playing Beat the Clock in order to get through all of the items that were donated for this fund-raising event. Beautiful theme gift-baskets really stole the show, deserts went for outrageously generous bids, crafts were clearly favored and exercise/work-out items were snapped up with little prodding from the auctioneers. A beautiful fish theme baby blanket, hand crafted and donated by Marilyn Gervais was the top ticket item, bringing in over $200! It was initially sold for around $120.00 and then was redonated by the successful bidder and then it sold again for around 80 bucks! Wow! Thank you, Marilyn and bidders!

A number of great items were in the silent auction. All told, this evening brough in just over $2,500 so that The Right Connection may continue to serve our children and the community.

Here is what the folks who nominated this year's winners had to say:

Adoptive Family of the Year (Tony & Phyllis Wall) - "The Walls' see and accept chidren as they are, without dwelling on or exaggerating their behavioral issues. They have a unique ability to treat birth parents. They create a safe, warm, protective and accepting home for all children who come to care."

Adoptive Family of the Year (The Bonines) - "Tim and Erin are extremely loving to all children. Their energy and involvement and willingness to adopt is an example to all of us."

Foster Parents of the Year (The McClarys) - "Acknowledged for their dedication and commitment to children and their overall energy. They had a very hard past year transitioning a child back home to his birth parents. Although the transition wasn't easy, Mick and Debb had only positive things to say. If there were concerns, Mick and Debb always tried to put a positive spin on them or spoke to those who could help with the issue. They invested an incredible amount of time and energy in making the transition work. They are an awesome resource and support to all foster and adoptive families."

Agency Worker of the Year (Tracy Leys) - "Tracy is willing to go the extra mile when co-workers are out of the office. She takes the extra workload in stride. She knows the transition needs for children and cares about the entire family."

Agency Support Worker of the Year (Sherry Tonne) - Sherry is always willing to help, especially when it comes to payment problems. She is friendly and efficient and always has the right answers."

Community Support Person fo the Year (Gerri Labunetz) - "Her program offers many qualaity services to parents involved with DPHHS. She is flexible in meeting various needs and works cooperatively with DPHHS."

Everyday Hero (Mary Williams) - "Her continued commitment to DPHHS, fellow foster families, and the children she cares for is highly commended. She serves all our banquets in style with a labor of love. Thanks, Mary, for all you do!"

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See ya next year!!

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