Sat, Dec 3 2011 - West Ed Waterpark / Galaxyland Adventure #4 ~ Celebrating 500 ~ (View Original Event Details)
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Weeks of preparation finally paid off Saturday as 52 enthusiastic COC’ers were treated to a fun filled day of celebration in recognition of my 500th coordinated event for the club.
As registrants arrived they were greeted by Indy 500 coordinator Duane and his pit crew who were kept busy serving up drinks while checking people in. Everyone arrived without incident and we departed for Edmonton just after 8:30am. The journey to Edmonton was filled with plenty of entertaining moments, lots of goodies, exciting games and prizes to! Each participant received a gift tube loaded with tasty treats including one of four custom designed cereal boxes featuring hilarious highlights from past events (see photo album).
Lots of fantastic homemade goodies were distributed throughout our 3 hour journey including Fluffy’s signature jell-o shooters, delicious “500” racing car rice krispie squares and her incredibly detailed racing car chocolate pretzels. Kevin Kurek and Rachael Solomon also served up some tasty delights that were greatly appreciated by all!
Midway through the trip I was presented with a very entertaining and heart warming video featuring a variety of messages from many of my fellow COC’ers. As I watched it unfold on the tv screens above I was truly overwhelmed by it all. It was a very emotional few minutes and it left me speechless. Thanks so much to all who participated and especially Lois for doing such an amazing job in putting it all together.
To pass the time we played DUANO (or Bingo as most people know it). Custom made game boards featuring many of my past events were distributed to passengers and prizes were awarded to 20 lucky participants who successfully achieved a DUANO.
A pit stop was made in Red Deer for a short bathroom break and group photo. After about 15 minutes we were back on the road enjoying more DUANO, toilet paper races and a Christmas carol brain teaser game that wrapped up just as we got into Edmonton.
We arrived at West Edmonton Mall right around noon and for the next seven hours everyone enjoyed themselves at the mall’s many attractions. Around 7:15pm we regrouped and headed over to BP’s for dinner. Afterwards we boarded the bus and enjoyed a well deserved relaxing ride home. It was a sensational day and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to share my 500th with.
Special Thanks to the following:
My Pit Crew: Fluffy, Lois, Mandy, Allyson, Jenny and Marvin
Lois: You have gone above and beyond so many times in the past but today you really outdid yourself. The cereal box labels were phenomenal, my racing suit looked awesome and I will cherish the “500” video for the rest of my life – truly amazing!
Chris (a.k.a Fluffy): For the endless hours you put into preparing so many wonderful treats for the entire group. You have been a big part of several of my milestone events and I would be lost without you. Your time, effort and generosity are sincerely appreciated. Thank you!
Mandy: Thanks for wrapping all the gifts for today’s event. It was so nice to be able to share in this experience with you! Your love and support have meant a great deal to me.
Rachael & Kevin: Thanks for providing some delicious homemade goodies for the rest of us to enjoy on the trip. It was greatly appreciated.
Gerardo: Thanks for capturing so many special moments on camera. Because of you, many of us have permanent reminders of the many great experiences we’ve shared. Much appreciated!
Mark (Traxx Driver): Thanks for getting us to Edmonton and back safely despite treacherous road conditions.
Rhonda Scheurer: Thanks for making this event possible in the first place! The number of lives you have touched through the creation of this club are too numerous to count.
To all of you: Thanks for being a part of the celebration! Enjoy the photo album and video!
Duane