by Debbi | Jun 2, 2008 | Good Things, Sandbar Stuff
Once again, The Sandbar has signed up to be a Hero for the American Red Cross. We get to be a Hero by raising $1000 in donations.
Last year, the proceeds from all purchased hurricanes during the month of May were donated. We also tried experimenting with a photo project, but I'm not sure how well that went over.
Two years ago, we put together a Sandbar wedding package, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.
This year, we have something new again: a special t-shirt. Since people buy so many Sandbar t-shirts anyway, it seemed only natural to design a limited-edition Sandbar shirt for the Red Cross. The front has the Sandbar logo on the chest where a pocket would be, and the back has this design:
The shirts are white with red ink, and they're $15 each. All proceeds benefit the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross. Get yours before they're gone!
by Debbi | Apr 29, 2008 | Events, Good Things
The Sandbar staff made it through another Hearts of Gold ball last Saturday.
We had two big bars set up in the "ballroom," otherwise known as the operations center for O’Malley Beverage, the local Anheuser-Busch distributor. Forget the concrete floors and garage doors- the decorations for the ball were spectacular! (And our very own Michelle helped with them.)
Each of our bars had four bartenders, a cooler full of four different bottled beers, red and white wine, and a limited supply of popular liquor and mixers. Dave was the floater/workhorse for the evening- while the rest of us lounged around behind the bars and popped the occasional bottle top, he was constantly moving around and restocking and shuttling supplies between the bars.
Peach and Ted were there dressed in their finery and ready to help out if Dave was too busy. It was a fun night and definitely a change from The Sandbar- everyone was dressed up, for one thing.
The real excitement of the evening, however, came upon our arrival back at The Sandbar.
It was raining and there was a line. We had two truckloads of stuff to carry into the bar- bar tops that Dave had built, leftover liquor, and an assortment of supplies. Some of the not-on-duty staff who were hanging around the bar came out to help unload.
And who was the first person in line when we arrived? Our long lost former doorguy/bartender John!
He’s been back from Australia since September, and he’s been in the bar several times since then, but this was the first time I’d seen him. And of course he informed us that he’s moving to Houston next week. We’re sad to see him go…but he promises to come back for a visit. Houston isn’t quite as far as Australia.
by Debbi | Apr 26, 2008 | Events, Good Things
Every few years the local hospital has a big gala fundraiser ball called Hearts of Gold. I think they’ve had three of them now, or maybe four, and another one is taking place tonight. The theme for this year is "Magical Moments." Funds raised from this year’s event will be used to purchase equipment to provide care for high-risk babies born at LMH.
The Sandbar has handled the bars for these events: set-up, staffing, and cleanup. It’s a pretty big job for Dave and Peach. (It’s also the one time they let me behind the bar to mix drinks). Seven hundred people are expected for tonight’s ball, all of whom paid a small fortune for their seat at a table and the opportunity to partake in the strolling buffet, provided by various restaurants and caterers around Lawrence. Music, dancing, and live and silent auctions provide the entertainment.
Sometimes the theme allows us to dress in costume, and you know how much The Sandbar crew loves costumes. This year, we’re going with an "elegant server" look and wearing white shirts, black bowties, and black bottoms.
If you’re planning to attend the event tonight, stop by one of the bars and chat.
by Debbi | Feb 18, 2008 | Events, Good Things, St. Patrick's Day
Every year around this time, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Pub Quiz kicks off a season full of charitable but fun events for The Sandbar crew. And every year when it’s time for the trivia game, we’re always kicked out of our winter fog by the realization that we need to get busy building our parade float.
Last night’s Pub Quiz was a huge, noisy, fun event at Zig & Mac’s. Former Sandbar staffer and trivia guru Scotty Mack organized the affair; he also wrote the questions. The Sandbar sponsored two teams, each with four players, and we had other friends and employees show up on several other teams.
"Ghost of The Sandbar" Team #1 & "Stink Pickle" Team #2 (Ask Pants what it means, ’cause I don’t know)
"Single Tall," made up of Sandbar friends/staff; Sheela, Scotty Mack, & Coleen
Even though Dave didn’t make it into a trivia question this year, The Sandbar managed to in kind of a roundabout way. One of the categories, "A Real Pub Quiz," was made up of obscure facts about local establishments.
"John Wolf, Patrick and Tom Conroy, and myself {meaning Andy Bob, the question reader} all have our names etched in bronze as members of the 49ers Club at which place?"
Patrick and Tom are two of Peach’s brothers. This wasn’t our question, but the team who drew it couldn’t answer it, so we all got an opportunity. The answer? The Bottleneck. Dave explained that they used to have a cooler where they kept 49 different kinds of beer, and once a person had tried all 49 varieties, they became a member of the 49ers Club.
Although neither of our teams won, we came pretty close. The final question was drawn from parade trivia:
"As the grand marshal of the bicentennial parade, he wore red, white, blue, and black."
And both of our Sandbar teams managed to think like Scotty Mack and answer this question correctly. No, we didn’t cheat off each other. We held our breath for awhile thinking we might be the only ones to answer correctly; but alas, there were other likeminded people in the room. Our "Ghost of the Sandbar" team ended up placing fourth and winning themselves each a St. Patrick’s Day Parade t-shirt. {Think you know the answer? Come back tomorrow to find out if you’re right.}
By the end of the night, the Pub Quiz raised about $2400 for this year’s charities.
by Debbi | Jan 20, 2008 | Good Things, Newsworthy, People
Aimlessly flipping through yesterday’s newspaper, I suddenly saw Peach and Ted’s faces staring up at me.
Peach and Ted are the Baldwin division co-chairs for this year’s United Way of Douglas County campaign. They posed for the picture with students from Baldwin City and Eudora high schools, who participated in the fundraising event with Weigh In for United Way. The students were recognized during halftime of their schools’ football game on October 25.
See the picture here.
by Debbi | Aug 19, 2007 | Good Things
So I know Danny gets a lot of press here, but he gives me a lot to work with. If the rest of you are jealous, well then step it a up a little and give me some stories or something.
Danny is riding in the MS150 in September. For those of you who don’t know, this is a two day bike ride to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Kansas City ride is September 8/9. There is a lot of information here, the main page for the ride.
If you are interested in contributing to the cause, you can make a donation on Danny’s personal page here. Even if you don’t know anyone with MS, chances are that someone you know knows someone who has it. It’s a devastating disease with no cure. Your donation can help find one.
I stole this picture from his page, too. I thought it was worth sharing with our readers.
