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Vol 12 No 4
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Fido's Fiesta
GRRI-NJ's 10th Annual Reunion
Sunday, October 3, 2010. The day dawned bright and clear. The wind made it a bit chilly, but once the sun came out, it was a beautiful fall day. A perfect day, actually, for a gathering of old and new friends alike.
It was reunion day, something all of us that are involved in rescue look forward to each year. A day to reconnect with old friends and make some new friends as well. And Fido’s Fiesta did not disappoint!
At about 8:30 a.m., several GRRI volunteers gathered at North Branch Park to set up for what would be a day of fun, food, and, of course, lots and lots of Goldens!!! Welcome banners were hung, tables were set for food and raffles, areas for games and pictures were readied and the merchandise booth was set up for those wishing to engage in some “Golden” retail therapy!
As the morning progressed, adopters and more volunteers arrived with their dogs and were directed to the registration desk where each Golden received his/her own goody bag and Mexican-themed bandana lovingly made by Julie-Ann Ulbrich. Our rescue dogs looked so handsome and pretty in these gorgeous keepsakes of our special day.
Before we knew it, lunch time was upon us and we all enjoyed a wonderful spread of fabulous sandwiches and an amazing array of drinks, salads, side dishes, and yummy desserts donated by many of our terrific volunteers. After lunch, our furry friends enjoyed an “ice cream” social … vanilla yogurt sundaes topped with carrots, kibble and dog treats! Yummy!!!
The afternoon events consisted of several games including Musical Hoops and the Hot Dog Toss. The winners of Musical Hoops were 1st Place – Max Pintus-Emma; 2nd Place – Madison Golden; and 3rd Place – Cherry Scafaria
The famous Hot Dog Toss, one of the high points of the day, did not disappoint. Rocky Walter regained his championship title by coming in first, followed by Bella Smith in second place. Meg Brockardt and Maverick Myers tied for third place.
As all of these events unfolded throughout the day, Jeanne Urna, our fabulous photographer, was capturing beautiful photos at the Fido’s Fiesta photo booth. Jeanne’s photos can be viewed by logging on to www.PhotosbyJeanne.com and clicking the link for GRRI’s 10th Annual Reunion. Special thanks, too, to Linda Walter, our roving photographer, who provided all of the photos for this article.
One of the most special parts of this reunion day was the Rescue Parade, an opportunity for our adopters and their rescued Goldens to spend some time in the limelight while the biography of the rescued dog was read aloud. Each rescued golden was then presented with a ribbon, a goody bag, a certificate and a booklet containing all of the bios. Their stories appear here.
The final event of the day was our raffle, which included an amazing array of absolutely gorgeous prizes, many of them “Golden” themed, of course! Many, many thanks to the following volunteers and local businesses who donated items for the raffle:
Blue Fish Designs The Hungry Hound Judy Lilien Eileen & Drew McFadden Nancy Myers Ruth Osman Robin Slamp The Body Shop Julie-Ann & Eric Ulbrich Mandy Burgress of Portraits by Mandy Lynda Neff Marcia & Joe Unger Cherry Brook Our day came to an end with many hands helping to clean up and lots and lots of promises by all to keep in touch with one another ‘til we meet again. A very special thank you to Lenise Mitchell and Anne Mroz for all of their efforts in pulling together this wonderful celebration; you rock! And thank you from the bottom of many, many beautiful Golden hearts to all of the volunteers who made this day possible! Your generosity of spirit is truly awe-inspiring and so very much appreciated by those that we work for to place in their “furever” homes!
