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Golden Treasures - The 2008 Reunion

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Overcast skies, foreboding forecasts and morning fog didn’t stop the hale and hearty from congregating at North Branch Park to enjoy the festivities at Golden Treasures, GRRI-NJ’s 8^th annual reunion.

In keeping with the theme of this year’s reunion, a Treasure Hunt was conducted for the children.  Clever clues written by our reunion Chairperson, Sylvia Mogerman, directed the blue and red teams to 7 sites hidden in different areas of the park:

There’s Pirate Treasure all around ye Stay with your crew And on the way ye shall be To finding the first clue. “Dead Men Tell No Tales” But under a pile of rocks Skeleton bones guard loot And opportunity knocks. From a pile of stones A pirate flag waves Could this be the treasure Of fearsome Davy Jones? A lone bridge of wood Guards some Pirate Bounty. Are you the ones who could Find it in Hunterdon County? To collect some dough "X" marks the place Where you need to go To stay in the race. Ahoy, me Mately! Man the sails! The wheel of the Pirate ship Has been released from it’s watery jail Find it to get the next tip! If you want to have some kicks Here the Treasure lies Under driftwood sticks Get it quick before anyone dies! There be one more Treasure for ye. Return to the Pirate Table for There is a surprise to see. Oh what could be in store For thee?

Pirate-themed goodie bags were filled with pirate bounty uncovered at each of the locations.  Gold doubloons, Jolly Roger pirate rings, black eye patches and pirate candy were among the treasures discovered at each site.

There were Golden hugs

 ….and plenty of  kisses as GRRI canines competed with their families for that coveted “Golden” trophy.  First place went to GRRI volunteer Drew McFadden and his GRRI Golden, Ryan (ok Ryan, you can stop kissing now, you won!) . Second place went to Erik Veiga and his GRRI Golden, Finnie.  Finnie is an old hand at this, having won 2^nd place in last year’s contest!  And third place went to GRRI volunteer Nancy Myers' granddaughter Mary Cate and Nancy's GRRI Golden, Maverick.

Coney Island, watch out. We have some real champs when it comes to devouring hot dogs. For the second year standing, Rocky Walter took first place in our hot dog toss assisted by his dad, GRRI volunteer Rich Walter.  Our second place winner was Meg Brockardt and her adopter mom, Barbara.

GRRI rescue Golden Scotty DiLemmo and his brother Ralphie won this year’s hula hoops competition, followed by GRRI Golden-mix Maddie Blake and her mom Terry.  Cooper Sabanos and his mom Carol placed third.

There were human costumes….and canine costumes.

Senior GRRI Golden Rusty Slamp won first place in the costume contest; GRRI Golden Bonnie McFadden won second place, and GRRI Golden Luke Ringen won third.

There was food aplenty….from Wegmans' delectable hero sandwiches to healthy salads and scrumptious desserts prepared by our volunteers.

Keepsake family photographs were once again taken by our favorite photographer, Jeanne Urna.  To view Jeanne’s photo gallery, visit her website at:  www.photosbyjeanne.com.

The 50/50 raffle was won by Josh Mogerman who generously donated his share back to GRRI…thanks Josh!   

Thank you to all the volunteers and businesses who donated our wonderful raffle items; to Phil Mogerman for acting as our MC for the day; to Josh Mogerman for helping wherever he was needed.

Two of our foster Goldens were lucky enough to attend.  Let’s hope next year they can come with their forever families.
Note: as this issue was released, they have both been adopted!

In addition to all the volunteers who made this event possible, we’d also like to thank:

Our Chairperson, Sylvia Mogerman and our Co-Chair, Eileen McFadden The Town of Mt. Pleasant, Westchester County, NY for loaning us their sound system The Pleasantville Tennis Club, Pleasantville, NY – tennis balls Jeanne Urna – www.PhotosbyJeanne.com   GRRI volunteer Linda Walter for acting as our “roving photographer”.  Visit her gallery at http://memoriesaregolden.smugmug.com/gallery/6081568_eWqFy

Raffle Items:

• The Healthy Hound, Inc, Pleasantville, NY
• The Hungry Hound, Somerville, NJ
• Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, Tinton Falls, NJ
• Yellow Farmhouse Candles, LLC, Belvidere, NJ
• Eileen & Drew McFadden
• Ruth Osman
• Shayne Murray
• Nancy Myers
• Robin Slamp
• Anita Ringen
• Theresa Szpila
• Carolyn Decina
• Jody Tallone
• Jessica Gerhart

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