spring newsletter 2014

7
VOL 2 - 2014 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Upload: goodtimeswineauction

Post on 30-Jun-2015

164 views

Category:

News & Politics


1 download

DESCRIPTION

The Auction is fast approaching. Catch up on all the latest in our most recent newsletter.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Spring Newsletter 2014

VOL 2 - 2014 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Page 2: Spring Newsletter 2014

The Wine Auction Committee has been spending hours organizing, preparing and fundraising for the 11th Annual Goodtimes Wine Auction. As the date approaches, the committee would like to recognize the phenomenal contri-butions made by Carol, Scott and Richard Bradley this year. "Team Bradley” has secured over $9,000 in donations for the Goodtimes Wine Auction. Their donations comprise almost one quarter of the total donations to date, includ-ing restaurant gift certificates and vacation packages to Whistler, BC and Mazatlan, Mexico. One donation secured by Scott that we are especially excited about is the five rides in a Porsche hosted by Ridge Motosports Park. In addition to fundraising, Carol and Scott attend every meeting, driving all the way to Seattle from Taco-ma. According to Astrid Uka, 2014 Wine Auction Event Chair, “Carol and Scott are a true driving force. We are very hon-ored that they are part of this and are such great contributors and motiva-tors for us.” How do they find the time and energy to volunteer? Ac-cording to Carol, “When you have found something that truly gives you purpose in life, something you feel has giv-en you and your family so much you just find the time to give.” The Bradley Family has been an essential part of Camp Goodtimes since 2001. Kathryn “Panda” Bradley was diag-nosed with medulloblastoma brain cancer at the age of eight years old. For more than a year, their lives were dic-tated by the exhausting treatments of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Kathryn and her older brother, Richard, became campers at Camp Goodtimes a year after Kathryn finished treat-ment. Carol describes camp as “a place where kids with cancer can go and feel normal for a week.” Kathryn would

describe it as “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Kathryn and Richard later donned their camp counselor names, “Panda” and “Loop”. Together, they would volunteer as staff every summer. Kathryn was diagnosed after 11 can-cer-free years with Glioblastoma Multiformie. She passed away in 2012. The Bradleys have continued to go “above and beyond” for Camp Goodtimes in the last year. While Carol and Scott went into camp fundraising over-drive, Richard is currently developing a special camp sib-lings program. Carol says, “It's a family thing for us. Of course it was Loop's and Panda's deal to begin with but now it is different with the passing of Panda. We feel camp gave Loop and Panda so much in terms of love and sup-port and we need to help it continue. It is also our way of honoring dear sweet Panda. So I guess you can say we find

time in our hearts and it truly makes us feel good to give.” We asked Carol which, out of all the accom-plishments of Team Bradley this year, she is most proud of. Carol says, “I think I am most proud of the Drive-A-Thon. Scott did a fabulous job getting this going and is still working on it to keep it an annual event.” The Turn2 Drive-A-Thon and auc-tion held last October raised nearly $40,000 for Camp Goodtimes. Carol would personal-ly like to thank Tom and Santo for being the

“driving force” behind this event. Camp Goodtimes and the Wine Auction Committee cannot thank the Bradleys enough for their contributions. It is an honor to work beside their kindness, generosity and pas-sion.

Team Bradley Takes Charge in Honor of Kathryn “Panda” Bradley

In this Issue:

Spotlight on Team Bradley………………………………………2

Faces in the Camp Crowd……………………………………….3

Our Current Pouring Wineries………………………………..4

Live Auction Items Preview…………………………………….5

Raising a Glass to Camp Goodtimes………………………..7

Page 3: Spring Newsletter 2014

Faces in the Camp Goodtimes Crowd

Robby is definitely a fighter! He not only enjoyed taking aim at me last summer on carnival day but, did something pretty spectacular after camp. He shot down can-cer! Over this past New Year’s he celebrat-ed being cancer free with a huge party for his family and friends down in Tacoma. I’ll look forward to seeing him again at camp this summer (and my squirt guns will be loaded and ready!).

I first met Sophia last spring at a “Crush Kids Cancer” fundraiser for Seattle Children’s Hospital and was so excited to see her at camp. This young leukemia patient is a dynamo who dreams of being a meteorologist. Through the Make-A-Wish Founda-tion and the kind folks at the Weather Channel, Sophia was given the chance to help with an actual weather forecast on TV last year! And what is Sophia’s extended forecast for camp this summer? A 100% chance of Fun! Kaelen “Poseidan” Nelson and Alyssa “Tooty Tah” Strauss have been great friends ever since they met at Camp Goodtimes when they were both campers. As soon as they were eligible to

become staff members they jumped at the chance to give back. They bring a very special empathy and compassion to camp with them. Kaelen attended camp when he was fighting leukemia and Alyssa attended because her little sister Gloria was battling neuroblastoma. Sadly, Gloria passed away in 2007 but she is celebrat-ed at camp to this day. In Gloria’s last year at camp she made famous the

“Tooty Tah” dance, later inspiring Alyssa to take that as her camp name. Kaelen was a dear friend to Gloria. She was four years his junior and had a mad crush on him that everyone at camp loved joking about, especially Gloria! Daphne makes the trek all the way from Fairbanks, Alaska, to attend Camp Goodtimes. Her grin is perma-nent, her giggle is infectious and she rocks the carnival hair styles like few others. As a cancer survivor herself she now directs her energy outward to help others. She is al-ways lending a hand to those kids who need it. A dear friend and fellow camper from Alaska, Julia, blinded by cancer when

she was little, often attends camp at the same time as Daphne and they are always arm in arm. Daphne’s smile lights up camp and I know she will come back one day as staff. Not even a brain tumor will stop Torin from making the most of each day at camp. He rarely sits down and whether it’s shooting nerf guns, throwing whipped cream pies on carnival day, or see-ing how much popcorn he can fit in his mouth during the cruise, Torin is in perpetual motion. Outside of camp Torin and his fami-ly are very active in the fight against pedi-atric cancer. Every year at the Run of Hope Seattle, Team Torin is out in force to raise money to support the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Guild. Torin is win-ning his battle and he is determined to help others win theirs too! Lauren travels the farthest to come to camp, all the way from the Big Island in Hawaii. She attended camp last summer with her younger broth-er, Theo. Lauren is an osteosarcoma warrior and thankfully was given a clean bill of health after recent scans at Seattle Children’s

Hospital. Last summer was her first year at camp and I thought she might be a little shy. Boy was I wrong! Much to my surprise, on skit night she got up in front of the entire camp and taught a hula dance and chant that she brought with her from Hawaii. The ceremonial perfor-mance was about healing and Hope and was a true gift from the heart. Mahalo Lauren and much Aloha to you and all

the other kids at Camp Goodtimes. Nicole didn’t have a single hair on her head when I was intro-duced to her a year and a half ago at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle. The chemo did its job, ridding her body of oste-osarcoma and she was well enough to attend camp last summer. She was doing great until it was discov-ered that, even though she was cancer free, she would need surgery to cor-rect a severe bow that had developed in her troublesome right leg. She en-dured major surgery and had a painful week getting comfortable enough to get out of the hospital. She’s working hard now on recovering. She wants to get out of her wheelchair and ride her brand new bike, which has been sitting unused for three months. Knowing how strong Nicole is, I fully expect to see her riding her bike with a vengeance along the beautiful trails of Camp Goodtimes this summer.

Page 4: Spring Newsletter 2014

Our Current Pouring Wineries for the Annual Goodtimes Wine Auction

We are excited to feature several boutique Washing-ton wineries at the 11th Annual Goodtimes Wine Auc-tion. During the silent auction, we will feature Finn Hill Winery from Woodinville, Prosser-based Mercer Estates and Patit Creek Cellars out of Walla Walla. The dinner wines are provided by JM Cellars from Wood-inville.

Rob Entrekin is the mastermind behind Finn Hill winery. He has created a "garagiste" mi-cro-winery, ded-

icated to the limited production of small lots of ultra-premium wines from designated vineyards and appel-lations in Washington. Finn Hill limits production to less than 1,000 cases annually. The current focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Reisling and Sauvi-gnon Blanc from some of Washington’s finest vine-yards. Rob is pleased to feature his wines at the Goodtimes Wine Auction for the third year in a row. To quote Ed Dudley, owner of Patit Creek Cellars, “The

experience of wine is to be shared with great

family and friends, it is to be enjoyed with great food, and it is to be shared with great conversations.” We could not agree more. According to head Winemaker Joe Forrest, “my job to create a product that is con-sistent, while paying respect to the vintage, grape and vineyard.” And we are happy to welcome back the outstanding wines of Patit Creek Cellars, which was the Presenting Winery at the 2012 Goodtimes Wine Auction. Oh, and next time you are in Woodinville, stop by the Patit Creek Cellars wine tasting room and say hi to Brooke. Her support for the Goodtimes Wine Auction has been consistently generous and we can-

not thank her enough! The Mercer family is into their fourth generation of farming in Washington State's Horse Heaven Hills. And they know what they are do-ing. Mercer Estates has been collecting numerous awards and accolades for their premi-um wines including 90 points in Wine Spectator for their 2010 Reserve Cavalie red blend and #1 on the Great Northwest Wine’s Top 100 list for their 2010 Spice Cabinet Vineyard Malbec. Congrats to head Winemak-er David Forsyth! Mercer Estates was the Presenting Winery at the 2011 Goodtimes Wine Auction and they have continued to support us ever since. 2014 marks the third year that JM Cellars wines will be featured. John and Peggy Bigelow first got involved with the Goodtimes Wine Auc-tion as the featured dinner winery in 2006 and their generosity to our auction has been legendary. Over the years, they have hosted a Goodtimes Grapevine recep-tion, donated many live auction items and even pro-duced a special bottling of the premier red wine, Tre Fancuilli—donating $25 per bottle to Camp Good-times. JM Cellars wines consistently score in the 90s, including the 2007 Longevity (94 Pts, Wine Spectator), the 2009 Chardonnay (94 Pts, Wine Enthusiast), the 2011 Syrah (93 Pts, Wine Enthusiast), the 2009 Syrah (93 Pts, Wine Enthusiast), the 2009 Boushey Vineyard Syrah (93 Pts, Wine Enthusiast), the 2008 Tre Fanciul-li (93 Pts, Wine Enthusiast) and the 2008 Chardonnay (93 Pts, Wine Enthusiast). We are certainly looking for-ward to dinner this year!

Page 5: Spring Newsletter 2014

Live Auction Items - Preview of What’s Coming at This Year’s Auction!

Historic “Skinny House” in Boston - On the Freedom Trail Valued at $2,000

Don't just visit the local attractions, stay in one! The 'Skinny House' at 44 Hull Street in the North End of Bos-ton, Massachusetts is an extremely narrow four-story house that has the unique distinction of being the nar-rowest house in Boston. The home is fully furnished with one queen size bed and a bunk bed (the lower bunk is a queen), linens, standard cable, high speed in-ternet, local phone and a washer and dryer. The kitchen is fully equipped including a dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, dishes and utensils. The home is located on the Freedom Trail in the North End of Boston within walking distance to restaurants, shops and historical sites and even includes a view of Copps Hill and Boston Harbor. Package includes one week stay at the ‘Skinny House’ in Boston on a mutually agreeable date. For additional details: www.vrbo.com/247506

One-Week Stay in Mazatlan, Mexico Valued at $3,000 Enjoy a one week stay in Mazatlan Mexico for up to eight people at the El Cid Marina Beach & Yacht Club. Breathtaking views, superb water activities, and a stress-relieving health club are at your fingertips during your stay in the nightlife capital of the Mexican Riviera. A two bedroom condo sleeps a maximum of 8 people, 2 bathrooms, 1 king-size bed, 2 double beds and 2 single sleep sofas. Choice of two dates: August 2–9, 2014 or September 6–13, 2014. For more information: http://www.elcidvacationsclub.com/Our-Locales/Mexico-Vacation-Clubs-Mexico/El-Cid-Marina-Beach-Hotel-Yacht-Club.html

One-Week Stay in Whistler, BC Valued at $1,500 Enjoy a one week stay at the Cascade Lodge in Whistler BC—a skier's paradise and top tourist destination. This property includes a fully equipped kitchen and fireplac-es. The resort has two indoor saunas, a fitness center and storage for your skis and snowboards. This one bedroom unit has a queen in the master and a sleeper sofa in the living room, so it sleeps a maximum of 4 people. Choice of two dates: January 4-11, 2015 or Feb-ruary 1-8, 2015. For more information: http://www.worldmarkbywyndham.com/resorts/wh/

Page 6: Spring Newsletter 2014

Live Auction Items - Preview of What’s Coming at This Year’s Auction!

One-Week Stay at the Kihei Kai Nani Resort in Maui Valued at $1,600

One of Kihei's first condominium resorts, Kihei Kai Nani is an excellent choice of a prime location, a great spot to stage your vacation for all Maui has to offer. Located just before Wailea, and within walking distance of Maui's beautiful, gently sloping, white sand Kamaole II Beach Park, shopping and restaurants. Six lush acres offer views to Haleakala and the Pacific Ocean, high-lighting dramatic sunsets, great swimming and sunning and fabulous whale watching in the winter months. This one bedroom unit sleeps a maximum of four peo-ple. Choice of two dates: July 5-12, 2014 or January 9-16, 2015. Includes (2) Alaska Airline tickets. For more information: http://www.viresorts.com/resorts/KiheiKaiNani.html

Tugboat on Lake Union Valued as Priceless A dinner or brunch for up to eight people. Surprise your guests with a wonderful meal while cruising on a beau-tifully restored tugboat on Lake Union. The R. W. Con-fer, built at the Albina Shipyards in Portland, Oregon was launched in 1930. After spending more than 70 years towing log barges, the boat was restored by Rex and Tana Hasart.

1.5L of DoubleBack 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Valued at $500 A magnum bottle of the fifth release of Doubleback per-sonally autographed by proprietor, Drew Bledsoe, a for-mer quarterback with the New England Patriots, and consulting winemaker Chris Figgins. The 2011 vintage has tannins which are present but soft, bright red fruit is balanced by crisp acidity, and the long finish leaves you wanting another glass. Cellaring recommendation: 5 years from vintage year or up to 15-20 years.

Mercer Estates Dinner for Six in Prosser, Wash. Valued at $1,000 Winemaker dinner for six as well as 2 bottles of Caber-net Sauvignon 2009 3L magnum bottles. Beautifully etched and signed by the winemaker, Jessica Munnell. The winning bidder has choice between: Winter Barrel Room “Wine and Dine” January 31th, 2015 (5:30 pm to 9:00pm) Enjoy appetizers and wine tasting as you tour through the tank room and learn how the Mercer family creates the delicious wines of Mercer Estates. Candlelit dinner, concluded with a decadent dessert paired with our deli-cious Mercer Estates Riesling. - OR - Summer BBQ- July 19th, 2014 (5:30 pm to 10:00 pm) Not your ordinary backyard BBQ! Join your host for a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities, barrel/tank tastings, appetizers and more tasting of Mercer Estate Wines– followed by an American style BBQ dinner in-cluding Jenna’s infamous S’mores Bar.

Page 7: Spring Newsletter 2014

The Washington Athletic Club provided the perfect venue on February 5, 2014, when we kicked off our first Goodtimes Grapevine event for 2014. We were happy to see many returning faces from our Good-times Wine Auction family. Longtime supporters Debbie and Keith Brownfield, Sue Pippy & Larry Krohn , Ted and Louise Tochterman, Katya and David Allen, Norm and Kathi Strickland, Astrid Uka and Randy Dahl were all in attend-ance. Kevin and Cary Clark from Argosy joined us as well to learn more about The Goodtimes Project. Ar-gosy Cruises has hosted thousands of campers on summer and winter cruises for 25 years.

On March 5, we held another great Grapevine event with an emphasis on inviting future supporters eager to learn about the new organization. Camp Mom Alicia Dunham shared with us the story of her son Connor and the impact Camp Goodtimes has made in his life. After hearing her story we were all that much more motivated to make this year’s Wine Auction a huge success. Thanks to all of you who attended. It was great to make new friends to raise a glass with!

Raising a Glass to Camp Goodtimes!