Thanks for another good year

Mar 2, 2016 4 min read

To the editor:

Thanks to everyone who donated to the Greater Pine Island Lions 6th annual Raffle/Auction which was held on Saturday, Feb. 20.

We had a few obstacles and changes this year that were beyond our control. The date was moved from close to the first of the month to the end of the month. The day was changed from Sunday to Saturday, charges went up for rental and insurance on the facility. Tickets were proof read before printing, but an error was made listing the event day incorrectly as Sunday, but the date was correct Feb. 20.

With all of these snags, we still had lots of auction items (thanks to those who donated from all over the state and those locally on our island and in Fort Myers and Cape Coral.) We sold 54 tickets which more than paid for the raffle prizes of $1,700 and the food and rental.

The auction did not bring in the money it has in the past, but everyone had lots of fun and enjoyed the food. We did not go broke, and we will survive.

Thanks to everyone who attended and bid on both the silent and the live auctions. We made changes in the bidding by adding “paddles” so the cashier could keep better track of the bids and collections. The silent auction was closed earlier and they were given a chance to bid one more time before it was closed and then they were given time to pay the cashier or make arrangement with her to pay for all of their purchases at one time. Thanks for everyone working with us on this change. It sure did help, as we hope you also noticed and we will be doing that in the future.

William from Fudge Factory in Matlacha delivered to us at 5 on Saturday evening a large tray of lovely assortments of candy (including white and dark chocolate with the Lions emblem! What a treat for those Lions attending) for our buffet and also a lovely “dark chocolate shoe with decorations of white chocolate pearls.” It was beautiful! It was sold at $75 not quite as much as a similar shoe brought at the American Legion Style Show earlier in the month, but everyone enjoyed the excitement! Thank you William and Carlos!

Thanks also go out for donations delivered for the silent auction that day. They were a great surprise and brought dollars for the Lions. Thank you Mary Grover! She brought Dalton Girl on Bench & Dancing Couple; blue vase; silver candle holders.

A donation was received from Donald and Mary Ellen Beatty Trust of Irons, Mich., through one of our associate members from Ohio, thank you Terry and Ed Doss.

The Winn-Dixie flower shop donated and potted plants for a beautiful white angel flower plot. Thank you for that contribution. The planter would not have been so pretty without the plants.

A big thank you Paesano’s Meat Market, Cape Coral, for giving a price break on the ground chuck we used for the meatballs.

Thanks to the following merchants for donating to the Greater Pine Island Lions Club. We could not provide the services we do for residents of our island who cannot afford vision and hearing care without your help with these donations.

If I have left anyone off, it is an error! Thank you, thank you, thank you:

Key West Express, Publix Cape Coral Shores, Busch Gardens Tampa, Everblades, Danny Yates Landscaping the Nursery, Pine Island Pest Control, (Matlacha) Bert’s Bar and Grill, Island Visions, Frills, Traders’ Hitching Post, Blue Dog (Food Cert), Great Licks Ice Cream, The Managerie, Capt. Gregg McKee WildFly Charters for 2, Pampered Pup, Blue Dog, Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery, (SJC) Ragged Ass Saloon, The Island Grill, Dr. Watson’s, Froggy’s, Domino’s, Mango Tango Tropicals plants, Hair Salon, Low Key Tiki, G.P.I. Lions Cookbook, Waterfront (Food Cert), St. James Island SPA, Island CenterAuto Oil Changes, Chuck’s Auto Oil Changes, St. James Automotive Oil Change, Monroe Canal Marina, Old St. James Marina, (Bokeelia) Capt. Con’s, Lazy Flamingo (Bucket of Beer per month for a year), 4-Winds Marina, Center Bait and Tackle, Alden Pines Golf, Beachhouse Lodge, Island Center Automotive Oil Changes, (Pineland) Tarpon Lodge, Pine Island Pizza, (Cape Coral) Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, John Michael’s Jewelry, Diamond Billiards, The Painted Conch, Miracles Baseball, Cape Harbor: Venture Out Bait Shop, Sanibel: Tween Waters,

Thanks to all who sold tickets, worked at the function and after the function clearing and cleaning.

Thanks to The Eagle and especially Ed Franks, editor, for all he does getting the news out for all of the organizations on Greater Pine Island. We appreciate all your efforts, Frank.

Pine Island Lions