It was truly a gala evening at Gulfstream Park for our annual auction in June – and what a way it was to “step it up a notch” and represent our chapter to the South Florida community. Kudos to Phyllis Festinger and Stacie Faulds for all their efforts – and to everyone else on the board and to the members “behind the scenes” for their contributions, donations, and attendance.
The ambiance of the room was lovely…as we were greeted by the sounds of the band, staff serving large goblets of red and white wine, and the passing of hors d’ouevres. Everyone was busy talking and checking out the silent auction and Chinese auction items. We then moved into the dining room for a full sit down dinner.
It was so good, as ever, to see new faces as well as old friends. Offered congratulations to Haydee on her new job (PRA Destination Management); learned about David Fenimore’s (Turks and Caicos Islands Tourism) daughter going off to her first year of college in New Orleans; a quick hello to Ina Lee in deep conversation with Jack Jackson. Ina reminded me we’d known each other 27 years which is when she first came to Lauderdale. A warm greeting to Walter Banks (Lago Mar) who looks as young and is as charming as when I first met him in 1978 at the Fort Lauderdale Hotel Association. Spoke with Richard Gonzalez (American Coach Lines) about enjoying the recent Visit Florida seminar we both attended; got a chance to chat with John Webb (CVB) learning more about domestic tourism and the other areas he handles; heard how Larry Rodkin (Lawrence of Florida) met his wife; too many conversations to even scratch the surface.
In between courses, we were welcomed by HSMAI Southeast Florida prez Fernando Harb and learned more about the auction's beneficiary, Academy of Travel and Tourism. We were updated on developments to come at Gulfstream (those shops and restaurants look like a great venue), watched our tickets for prize drawings, and bid on the live auction items.
After dinner, it was off to the casino to immediately use our free $5 casino vouchers. Gulfstream had invited everyone for complimentary drinks downstairs so we paused with a quick minty mojito to wait out the rain. And a good time, was had by all….
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