The big night was, as always, a big success. The 39th Annual Rotary Club Benefit and Banquet with a Vegas Casino theme is in the books. The big prize of the $3,000 was Dr Larry Obie from Havre, who gave it to the Big Sandy Swimming Pool fundraiser. Dylan Laslovich won the Milwaukee set; Colby and Rachel Baumgarn won the Traeger Grill; Daren and Tracy Schuster won the Vortex Binoculars; Ty and Dusty Cline won the Kitchen Aid Mixer; Robin and Cinda Pearson won the Ninja Oven; Ron Wiens won the Ninja Coffee maker; Skylar Pearson won the Dyson Vacuum; Rikki Henderson won the Spa Gift Set; and Jon and Jessica Sheehy won the Massage Gun.
Shon Tester was the Mastery of Ceremony dressed in a glittery gold jacket, Vegas Style. He also made the stage design and the three Vegas Flamingo girl costumes. They were incredible. Laci LaBuda, Amber and Terry, Cami Hilis wore them. The stage was made from massive colored material fanned out to cover the stage.
Shon Tester wrote, "It was a packed house and a smashing success!"
"This year's Rotary banquet was one of the funniest events I have ever hosted. Every year, we get better, and this year, we really started to dial it in and fine-tune. This year's algorithm allowed us to get out around 9:15, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I'm very pleased with our timing."
"The most important thing is that we raised a wonderful amount of money, and everyone had a good time. That was very important to me and my fellow club members."
The food was as expected: Prime Rib, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans, four salads, and two choices of dessert.
They had card raffles, a dice game, Heads and Tails, 50-50, a safe game, Plinko, and Dart Poker,
Tilleman Motor Co. gave a $1,000 in-store credit, which Corbin Pearson won. Valley Furniture also gave $1,000 in-Store Credit won by Demra Brown and Gloria Godfrey.
I sat by good friends and enjoyed the music-all the old-time Vegas music. It was fun to have Elvis (Billy Pierce) sing for us as well.
Shon continued, "To our donors and community. Thank you for all that you do. This would not have been possible without you, obviously. In 10 months, we will start up again, and next year's theme will be Jurassic Park. The set that I have planned for next year is bonkers. You guys are going to love it. See you next year!"
