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Madonna, Batman and friends bowl for Big Brothers

Gail Aalund, all decked out for the 1980s theme, picks up her ball for her next roll at Bowl for Kids Sake, a fundraiser for Big Brother Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado on April 12.

When Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado was founded in 1984, we “really, really liked” Sally Field, Madonna was recalling what it felt to be “Like a Virgin,” “Ghostbusters” was the top grossing flick and the artist known at the time as Prince gave us “Purple Rain.”

The organization and its supporters honored that pop culture legacy at its 30th annual Bowl for Kids Sake, where 76 teams helped the organization raise about $58,000.

Ed Lacy from Four Corners Broadcasting, one of the event’s Diamond Sponsors, announced and spun tunes from the ’80s all day long with the help of a sound system courtesy of Axxis Audio & Home Theater.

And, oh, the costumes! The event was a veritable fashion show of the excesses of 1980s fashions. Big shoulder pads? Check. Even bigger hair? Double check.

The Madonnas, team captain LaVerna Phillips, Liz Brewer, Mimi Lor and Emilie Wood, who hail from Pagosa Springs, knocked it out of the park in portraying her Madgeness, with each taking home a prize.

Because the teams changed every hour, a lot of costume prizes were given out, including to Mel Rose for Batman; Jeannie Wheeldon from High Noon Rotary Club; Savannah Cox from the Rock-N-Bowlers, one of Mercury’s seven teams; Diane Purdy from one of Keller Williams Realty Southwest Associates’ five teams, Rebecca Borunda from Four Corners Broadcasting and Angela Carnrite of the Rock Stars.

Borunda, along with Jennifer Bartlett and Carrie Betts, served on the organizing committee for the bowling at Rolling Thunder Lanes in Ignacio, the event’s Gold Sponsor. It was the first outing for Megan Sanders, Big Brothers’ new marketing and special events coordinator, who survived her trial by fire triumphantly.

The Rock-N-Bowlers, including Cox and team captain Terry Moore, Karen Veals and Pattie Money, were the top Mercury money raisers as a team, bringing in $1,007.

Nine banks competed in a separate challenge, with Pine River Valley Bank taking bragging rights for 2014. The team raised almost $4,060, with captain Brandie Flann earning the honor as top money raiser as an individual as well.

Bank of Colorado, which fielded three teams, came in second with $3,403 – $2,700 raised by the bank’s senior vice president, Jason Portz. Portz is a former Big Brothers Big Sisters board member and continues to actively support the organization. (Flann was bound and determined to beat him in fundraising, so she can gloat for the rest of the year.)

Another bank played a key role in the event. First National Bank of Durango served as Bowl for Kids’ Sake’s other Diamond Sponsor. Not only did the bank help fund the event, it donated $30 to the funds raised of every team that raised the suggested $300 minimum. The $30 was in recognition of the organization’s 30th anniversary.

Fifty-two teams took them up on it, increasing the bank’s donation by almost $1,600. (Hey, if you gave First National’s team the credit for that donation, would they move up in the standings?)

In total, the banks raised more than $16,000, proving once again what generous supporters of our community they are.

Who bowled the highest game? Who knows?

“We’re kind of casual about the actual scorekeeping,” Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director Tracy Cornutt said. Instead, they measure the fun and the number of kids who will be helped by being mentored.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has three programs to help young people who will have a better shot at thriving if an older person gives them some one-on-one attention: the adult Big Brothers and Big Sisters (and Big Couples) who interact with the kids in the community; Study Connection, where study buddies meet with young people ages first through 12th grade at their schools for an hour a week of homework help and mentoring; and the new High School Big Brothers Big Sisters program, where high school students mentor elementary school-aged students after school at Park and Needham elementary schools.

For all of them, the program needs M&Ms, Cornutt has said. Mentors is one, of course, but money is the other. For the safety of the children and to ensure the success of matches, Big Brothers Big Sisters does background checks and continually monitors Bigs and Littles to support the matches.

HHH

Joyous birthday greetings go out to those bull-headed Taurus folks – Sonja Smith, Cole House, Mary Ann Craig, Aeneas McBrayer, Annslee Crouch, Melody Warren, Mark James, Ryan Slater, Saylor Stottlemyer and Bill Watt.

HHH

It’s time for the Friends of the Durango Public Library’s annual meeting and Spring Book Sale. It’s worth spending the $5 for individuals, $10 for families (and $150 for a lifetime membership) to become a member, not only so you can attend the meeting at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, but also so you can support the Friends’ good work, and not coincidentally, attend the Members Only Book Sale from 6 to 9 p.m. after the meeting. Memberships are available at the front desk of the library.

The Friends do all kind of things to enhance the services our library offers, from funding programs and subscriptions to buying e-readers and digitizing The Durango Herald for easy searches.

The sale for the general public runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Books are mostly sold for $1.50 per pound, so it’s a great time to stock up on reading material for the summer.

HHH

Enjoying positively balmy anniversaries are Van and Mary Butler, Bill and Pam Butler and Tom and Kim McCarl.



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