What do “Tiny Bubbles,” a lei and a beach umbrella have in common?
They’re all things one might encounter at a luau, and all were present at Luau on the Lanes, this year’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado on March 14. The leis were provided courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters to get everyone in the mood, and the lanes, of course, were Rolling Thunder Lanes at Sky Ute Resort & Casino, a gold sponsor of the event.
But the man who most got people in the mood was master of ceremonies Chad Peyer, also known as the afternoon disc jockey at KIQX-FM (101.3). (Four Corners Broadcasting, which owns KIQX, was one of two diamond sponsors along with First National Bank of Durango.)
Peyer created a playlist of beach music with lots of Jimmy Buffett and other partying-by-the sea tunes including the aforementioned “Tiny Bubbles,” because you’ve got to have Don Ho at a luau. He also got the teams’ juices going with lots of mini-contests throughout the day. Best Luau Spirit, Next Strike, Best Dressed, Best Bowling Form and an infamous dance-off in front of the DJ’s stand all brought lots of laughs and some nice prizes.
Almost 70 teams spent weeks raising money, because, of course, that’s what the event is all about.
There were three challenges, Durango banks, Mercury Payment Systems and real estate firms.
Nine teams represented Alpine, 1st Southwest, Wells Fargo and sponsor First National banks, and Bank of Colorado (three teams) and Bank of the San Juans. All told, the bank teams raised almost $6,800. And, once again, the Bank of Colorado gets the bragging rights for being the top bank fundraiser. The other banks are going to have to work awfully hard to beat Jason Portz’ team, the Kingpins. Portz is a former board president of Big Brothers Big Sisters and still has a passion for helping at-risk youth. His team members were Cody and Lacey Johnston.
Mercury Payment Systems fielded six teams from within its own walls who went all in. They raised more than $3,350.
Four real estate firms put the pedal to the metal when it came to raising money and having fun. Four firms – Coldwell Banker Heritage House Realtors, Keller Williams Realty Southwest Associates, The Wells Group and Durango Land and Homes – assembled 16 teams and raised $10,000. Keller Williams and its four teams were the top group when it came to fundraising, but the Coldwell Banker team of Marilyn Lang, Gina Piccoli, Bobbie Carll and Susannah Cahn was the top real estate team. They raised a lot of money, event chairwoman Megan Sanders said.
Keller Williams also gets credit for bringing the grass beach umbrella mentioned in the lead. And thus, the list is complete.
Other members of the organizing committee were Christine Larsen from Four Corners Broadcasting, Allie Farkas from Basin Printing and Imaging, an in-kind sponsor, Lexa Pitcher and Annie Drysdale.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado is still tallying the results – and checks are still coming in – but it looks like the net proceeds from Bowl for Kids’ Sake will come in between $45,000 and $50,000. Not bad for doing a hula while trying for a strike, is it?
If you weren’t on a team and didn’t make a donation for the event, anytime is a good time to donate to this program that looks out for our most fragile children. Send donations – or as BBBS puts it, invest in a child’s future – to P.O. Box 2154, Durango, CO 81302.
It takes two things to make the organization’s three programs work. Whether it’s the original, community-based Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Study Connection or High School Big Brothers Big Sisters. Those two things are money and mentors.
The mentor part is obvious. It’s what Big Brothers Big Sisters is designed to do. (And by the way, they always have a list of Littles awaiting their Bigs. Call 247-3720 to learn more. Every Big I know has said it’s been one of the most rewarding things they’ve ever done.)
But Big Brothers Big Sisters has successful matches precisely because it invests in them, from background checks to make sure kids will be safe to frequent monitoring and holding events and parties to provide something special for the matches.
The parents or guardians who seek a Big for their children recognize that whether it’s because of a death or divorce in the family, parents working multiple jobs to survive in Durango or just a child who needs someone to be a role model and care for them, the program could make all the difference in the child’s life.
If we truly want to be the village raising our children, supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado is a key way to do that.
HHH
These folks might be celebrating their birthdays on the beach for spring break – Elena Breed, Emmett Stottlemyer, Richard Gjere, Dale Rodebaugh, Joyce Erickson, Dottie Robinson, Conor Nelson, Tamara Volz, Loreta Beam, Annemarie Nobman, Dan Hopper, Mary Richards, Geri Mulligan, Kathie Bowers, Krystal Gunkelman, Janet Enge and Billie Gardner.
Special greetings go to two of my very favorite people, Sarah Sumner and Beverly Darmour.
HHH
First, he graduated from Durango High School. Then after earning his bachelor’s degree, he was named a Rhodes Scholar – Durango’s first. After making a splash as a conductor in England – hailed as “a talent to watch out for” by the BBC – while studying at Oxford University, he was named the San Diego Symphony’s associate conductor. If you’ve figured out I’m talking about Philip Mann, you’re right.
Mann, who’s in his fifth year as music director of the Arkansas Symphony, is going to be conducting a little closer to home on March 28.
He’ll take the stage at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque at 6 p.m. – that’s next weekend – to conduct the New Mexico Philharmonic. Tickets are available online at www.nmphil.org or www.unmtickets.com.
The program includes the “Overture to Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Niccolò Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Opus 7, and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
The New Mexico Philharmonic describes the program thusly: “Get ready for a night of marvelous music! Mozart’s emotional powerhouse- the Overture to Don Giovanni opens the evening. Then, renowned Russian violinist Ilya Kaler joins your NMPhil for Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2, the gorgeous “La Campanella,” with flashy finger work you won’t soon forget. Kaler is the only person to ever win the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Paganini competitions! Arkansas Symphony Music Director Philip Mann conducts this night, concluding with Mahler’s radiant and truly colossal Symphony No. 5.”
At one point, Mann was planning to do his doctoral dissertation on Mahler, but even if he didn’t, this is a composer Mann loves, so he’s sure to do it justice.
Mann’s mother, Fort Lewis College professor Emerita Rochelle Mann, is always proud, but she has said that the most joyful moments in her own prolific career was watching her son conduct another Durango favorite, pianist Norman Krieger, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Abbey Road Studios in London last fall.
I don’t have space here to list all of Mann’s accomplishments and fellowships, but his complete bio is available for your perusal at www.arkansassymphony.org/themusic/musicdirector.
The concert is a great excuse for a road trip for classical musical lovers.
HHH
Spring flowers are in full-fledged bloom – in March! – for the anniversary of Blake and Pat Chatfield.
HHH
Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers for all items. Follow me on Twitter @Ann_Neighbors.
I am happy to consider photos for Neighbors, but they must be high-quality, high-resolution photos (at least 1 MB of memory) and include no more than three to five people. I need to know who’s who, left to right, and who to credit with the photo. Candid photos are better than posed, and photos should be submitted as .jpg or .tif attachments.
