BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Chrissy Thompson was the winner of the $2,500 grand prize at the Altrusa of Starke gala, which had more than 60 prize winners in all at the annual fundraising event on Oct. 24 at the Gov. Charley E. Johns Conference Center in Starke.
Thompson wasn’t present, which prompted Master of Ceremonies Terry Vaughan to suggest that what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
“How many people are here tonight? We can all walk home with $5,” Vaughan cracked.
Everyone who purchased a ticket to the gala was entered in a prize drawing, with 64 of the total 161 winning prizes donated by businesses and individuals.
The reverse drawing, which consisted of Altrusa President Rachel Rhoden pulling names out of a bowl, eliminated individuals (prize winners and non-prize winners) until five names remained: Thompson, Renee Long, Sandra Reddish, Sherry Ruszkowski and Stefanie Smith. All five won something. Smith won a Yeti cooler donated by Montford Body Shop, while Long won an iPad donated by Tatum Lumber. After Reddish was announced as the winner of a smart TV donated by Roberts Insurance, it came down to Ruszkowski and Thompson.
Ruszkowski’s name was then drawn as the winner of a $500 Hilton Hotel gift card donated by DLP Bank, meaning Thompson had claimed the night’s big prize.
A dinner provided by Blue Water Bay preceded the prize drawing, which first began with Rhoden recognizing that it was Vaughan’s birthday.
“A man we all love and respect was born on this day,” Rhoden said. “I won’t say how many years ago, but I will give you a clue. The number-one song in the U.S. on the day he was born was ‘I Want to Be Wanted’ by Brenda Lee.”
After Rhoden led the crowd in singing happy birthday, Vaughan said, “The truth of the matter is I’m not going to tell you how old I am, but more exciting than getting gifts and eating cake and all those sorts of things is knowing that I’m just one year away from Medicare. Hallelujah.”
Vaughan said he was asked to speed up the event this year, which he said was no problem. He turned to his wife, Jennifer, and asked her to pick a number between 1 and 10. After she picked 2, Vaughan said, “Two is the winning number. Jennifer gets $2,500. The rest of you just make a mad dash to the (prize) table.”
As has become a tradition at the gala, Vaughan, who announced this will be his last year as master of ceremonies, shared many groan-inducing puns and jokes. Several, as usual, had to do with his wife.
“You may not know this, but when I first met Jennifer, she was working at a zoo,” Vaughan said. “That’s when I knew she was a keeper.”
Jennifer’s short stature usually comes up every year in a joke. This year, Vaughan said, “Just the other day, unbeknownst to Jennifer, I replaced our bed with a trampoline. She hit the roof. Actually, I’m not sure Jennifer could make it to the roof, even with a trampoline. Maybe a catapult.”
Vaughan made no secret about pulling for his wife to win the grand prize, remarking every so often about how she was still in the running. When he did so just before announcing the winner of a gun-cleaning set that was donated by Teal Tile and Carpet, someone remarked, “Maybe she’ll win that.”
“Knowing Jennifer, she’d want to make sure the rifle is perfectly clean before she shoots me with it,” Vaughan said.
Jennifer, who’s been married to Vaughan for 39 years, didn’t win the gun-cleaning set. A few names later, Vaughan was ready to announce the winner of an electric pressure washer, also donated by Teal Tile and Carpet.
“Jennifer could win this, and she can clean up the blood from the carpet,” Vaughan said.
When Jennifer’s name was drawn to win the pressure cleaner, Vaughan continued to joke about his demise at the hands of his wife.
“I told them this would be my last year doing this,” Vaughan said. “I didn’t really know what that meant, but I think I do now.”
Vaughan had some fun with the Teal-Hamilton family — again. At last year’s gala, family members won two vacuum cleaners, which Vaughan joked about because of the Teal Tile and Carpet family business.
This year, it looked as if no one in the family was going to walk away with anything. The first two family names called — Morgan Hamilton and Bailee Hamilton — won nothing.
“You’re off to a really good start tonight,” Vaughan said, later adding, “If you all want to leave now, we’ll understand. Beat the traffic. Grab a piece of dessert on the way out the door.”
After Ty Hamilton was announced as a non-winner, Vaughan warned the family, “Do not cross the street tonight.”
“The curse,” as Vaughan called it, was broken when Braxton Hamilton won a bumblebee basket donated by Sandra Luke. Kensley Hersey then won a men’s pocketknife donated by Beverly Hardy.
Vaughan told Hersey, “Now listen. You all aren’t winning a lot of stuff. You’ve got a pocketknife. I’m just saying, if you want to get out of here with some stuff, you know what to do.”
Vicki Teal kept up the family’s newfound winning ways, receiving ceramic cookware donated by Rachel Rhoden. Kevin Hamilton, though, was a non-winner.
“We’re back to normal here,” Vaughan said.
Of course, no one was safe from Vaughan’s wisecracks. After Paul Sanders and his wife, Jessica, were non-winners, Vaughan said, “All of the Sanders, including Col. Sanders, will walk away empty handed tonight. I suspect fowl
play.”
Sandra Luke was a non-winner, but her husband, Randy, received a Weber Grill donated by Brenda Thornton.
“Sandra lost, but you pick up the grill,” Vaughan told Randy Luke. “The grill of your dreams going home with you.”
After Beth Tillman of Sporting Chance won the $50 cash prize that she donated, Vaughan cracked, “You met your quota today, and you get $50.”
A Dublin crystal vase donated by Julee Tinsler was won by Todd Ferreira of Ferreira Funeral Services. Vaughan said, “A funeral-home guy could use one of those. Somebody is going to end up in a vase, making an ash out of himself.”
Vaughan joked about the number and variety of baskets that were prizes. After a fall basket donated by Teal Tile and Carpet had been won, Vaughan was set to announce the winner of a throw-blanket basket that was donated by Chris Hoglund.
“Not to be confused with a fall basket,” Vaughan said. “You fall on one and throw the other.”
When a market basket donated by Carolyn Carver came up as a prize, Vaughan said, “We’ve got every basket under the sun. We’ve got a market basket. I’m not sure what that is, but I think it’s great.”
A wine basket donated by Teal Tile and Carpet prompted Vaughan to say, “These baskets are getting better by the minute. You start with the wine basket, and you end up at the fall basket.”
Perhaps Vaughan is a bit of a basket case, but it all amounted to a good time in supporting Altrusa of Starke’s major fundraiser every year. The event helps support the club’s scholarships as well as various projects, such as providing Easter baskets for children in the Guardian ad Litem program, Christmas gifts for Rainbow Center children and books for Bradford County students as part of the Books in the Classroom Literacy Project. The club also makes donations, including to the Bradford Food Pantry and the Bradford County Public Library’s summer and Christmas programs.
The club has received grants to provide more ways to support the community, including:
—$10,000 from Clay Electric to support the University of Florida Literacy Institute program at Bradford elementary schools.
—$1,000 from Capital City Bank to support the Cambridge AICE Diploma Program at Bradford High School.
—$4,000 from Altrusa International to support and stock classroom libraries.
—$4,000 from Altrusa International to support STEAM/STEM programs at Lawtey and Starke elementary schools.
