The June 28th,
2008 monthly Chapter Meeting minutes have been POSTED on the "Members
Only" Page with chapter password.
CONGRATS CHOG Chapter and to ALL who made it happen again
for HOSPICE!
Please see the below OPEN LETTER OF THANKS regarding our HOSPICE RIDE
FOR ANGELS held on Sunday, June 8th, 2008.
5
th Annual Hospice Ride for Angels
The
day turned out to be beautiful
with blue skies, food, music, and friends from all over coming together
to help
us raise money for the Mike Conley Hospice House in Clermont. And raise
money
you did. The total raised is absolutely incredible - $22, 650.34!
Once
again your Chapter put
together a day to remember. So many of you donated your time and money.
The
success of our event could not be possible without your tireless
efforts over
many months of going out soliciting, and collecting, donations for our
auction
and giveaway prizes.
“Thank
You” goes out to all of
you for your dedication and hard work in bringing this event together.
We
cannot be successful without a cohesive team effort. And once again
your
Chapter put together a team to be proud of.
I
would like to personally thank
some of our major contributors again this year for their continued
financial
support - Minneola Mayor David Yeager, Mr. George Taylor from the
Mattress
Market, Jay Dymond/Matco Tools, Westgate Resort, and Shingle Creek
Resort and
Golf Club. I would also like to send a
special thank you to Ms. Brenda Gregory – Proprietor of Outback
Steakhouse in
Clermont, and her incredible staff, for once again donating, preparing
and
serving our delicious lunch.
Putting
together such a huge
event as this is not possible without the help, and support of so many
other
people and organizations. My most sincere “thank you” also goes out to
all our
volunteers, Janice Malik and Stormy Hill HD, the folks at Minneola City
Hall,
volunteers from Hospice, Brian Smith our auctioneer, Melissa
Desruisseaux our
DJ, and all those individuals and businesses that donated items for our
giveaways and auctions.
But
most of all I would like to
thank you – the people who took time out of your hectic schedule to
ride with
us and help raise money through your generous financial contributions.
This
year has proven to be a tough one for many of us with the rising price
of fuel
and the deflated housing market. However, you still found a way to dig
deep and
donate time and money to something bigger than your personal needs. For
that I
commend all of you. This generosity was certainly exemplified by Duke
Mangold
and Dana Boyd who donated their poker hand winnings back to Hospice.
That’s
what this ride is all about – putting aside personal gain to help those
in
need.
This
has been a personally trying
year for me and my family with my current medical situation, but a
rewarding
one as well when I see all of you coming together to support this
worthwhile
charity. Thank you once again for letting me be a part of this
wonderful event.
May you never need their service, however, if you ever do, know that
Hospice
will be there for you also. See you next year!
Ride
til the end with your
friends at your side.
Dennis
“Hedgehog” Halloran
