HOPE 2008

Nick and I just finished a HUGE job last weekend! We chaired the banner committee for HOPE 2008. HOPE stands for "Hutchinson County Oil Patch Extravaganza." It is actually the largest fundraiser per capita for the American Cancer Society. Not too shabby for little Borger. It is also known as the "party of the year." It gives a city girl like me a chance to wear her cowboy boots! No matter what the theme, HOPE always has a western element! Our duties started in February and finally came to a close (at least for this year) on Sunday, October 5. We had several friends that were chairs of committees as well, so this made it so much fun! This year, HOPE took place on the Crutch Ranch. It is kind of like a date party from college! Everyone goes to the Aluminum Dome in Borger (for those of you who have not seen this in person, I am sure you can imagine!) and catches a charter bus out to the ranch. Once at the ranch, you enter the VIP tent. There is a lot of food, table games, a silent auction and all the boos you could ever want! This for an 8 month pregnant woman was the least of my excitement! Nick and his friends volunteered as bartenders again this year. I bartended the past two years with them, but I just did not think it looked right to have an 8 month pregnant bartender! So I attended as a guest. This year's theme was Mardi Gras-Texas Style! It was beautiful! Our dear friend, Tiffany Ristroph, was the chair of the decorations committee. You want to talk about work...she worked and worked for months leading up to this and it showed! It was beautiful! I wish I even had a bit of her talent and vision! Through out the evening there are different money making areas for the American Cancer Society. There is the "Hurricanes and Treasures" booth. There you can buy a Hurricane glass (with three refills) for a $100. You are entered to win a gift certificate from one of our jewelry stores in Amarillo. There is the Spirit of Hope where you can buy a star to remember either a loved one lost to cancer or a survivor. In years past, we had pig races. These were fun to watch, but PETA stepped in and basically put pressure on the American Cancer Society to get rid of them, so no little piggies this year! We had a delicious dinner which Nick stepped away from his duties to join me for. There is also a live auction. This year our friends, Sean and Jennifer White, donated a whole roasted pig and a party catered for 50. There was also a package for 4 to fly to LA, see a live taping of the Dr. Phil show and meet Dr. Phil himself. I am still trying to figure out who in HOPE has connections to Dr. Phil! There was an autographed guitar donated by the entertainer of the evening, Kevin Fowler. Probably the largest draw of HOPE is the entertainer. Every year there is a headline act and a dance band. They both must be country. Our friends, Jon and Nichole, chaired the entertainment committee this year. They did an awesome job! We were all rookies this year to being chairs. As most of you know, country music is about my least favorite next to heavy metal and gangster rap! However, I was excited to see Kevin Fowler play, I actually have three of his songs on my IPod and have for the past year. The entertainer is typically an up and comer or someone who had a really huge hit at one point or another. Last year, we had Neal McCoy, the year prior to that was Billy Dean. Kevin Fowler is originally from Amarillo. He really did put on a great show. I left before the dance band came on. The dance band was Matt Martindale. All in all it was a great night for a great cause. I do not know the totals on what was raised for ACS, but I know it must be quite a bit. Everything is underwritten, so everything that is made that night, goes directly to ACS. Poor Nick had to stick around the whole time, so he did not get home until around 2:30am. The next morning we went to the "It Ain't over 'til it's over clean up" party. It was a loooong weekend to say the least, but completely worth it for the cause. So many people gave so much time and money to the cause. It is so wonderful to see how kind some can be. Well...we should have a wrap up meeting in about a month and then it will start again all over!