Winnie Gators
October outing 2010
Torrey Oaks RV Resort in Bowling Green, Florida was
the setting for the October 15 – 17, 2010 meeting of the Florida State
Winnie Gators. 53 coaches were in attendance as many members were welcomed
back from summer traveling! Many people came a day early to relax and
enjoy the park and visit with friends. Thursday Happy Hour brought the
group together with lively conversations and hugs all around! Several
people went to dinner at various local restaurants. The Board of Directors
meeting was held at 7:30 pm as all chapter presidents and officers were in
attendance early. The agenda was
changed due to the memorial service that was being held for member Marge
Shaughnessy the next day. Marge passed away from injuries she sustained in
an automobile accident. She and her husband. George, are charter members
of WIT, Florida State Winnie Gators and South Florida Chapter. Our sincere
sympathies were extended to the family.
Friday dawned a beautiful fall Florida day as the
golfers went to the course next door to compete in a scramble. The day was
spent visiting the area and enjoying the nice cooler weather! Happy Hour
commenced at 4pm when the Millers presented a slide show from GNR! What a
WONDERFUL time we had and everyone enjoyed the pictures! Some
guests and first timers were welcomed and introduced to the group. Larry
& Jeanne Daland, Pete & Connie Ley, Pete & Gayle Putman –
welcome to our club! Prizes
for our golf scramble were presented by David Nobert, to John & Ella
Thurston for longest drives, Pete Putman for closest to the pin, and team
1 members, Ed Tyndall, Pete Wightman and Pete Putman.
A delicious Pot Roast Dinner was served at 6pm, with our friends from Rainbow Catering in the kitchen. At 7pm the chapters had selected their teams to participate in the Pumpkin Carving Contest! The rules were set and the carving began! Our judges, Pete & Connie Ley had their work cut out for them! Taking home the prizes were Funtimers, Buccaneers, Caloosas and combined team members from Florida Sunshine, Dubols and Panhandle Winnies.
Prize winning pumpkin carving by the Funtimer's
Saturday morning breakfast was served at 8:30am,
followed at 10am by our General Business Meeting. Many thanks were given
to the members by President Nancy who attended GNR and helped with all the
activities during the 2 weeks. Several members were recognized for their
purchase of new coaches! The
rest of the day was spent enjoying the weather and the park. Happy Hour at
4pm saw a change of themes – now we were celebrating OKTOBERFEST
complete with polka party music, our “Luuzers” group giving away
beverages, and a money raffle with our “raffle babes” Damaris Travers
and Linda Tuzzolo selling tickets. A German theme dinner was served at 6pm
by Rainbow once again.
Our evening activity was a Sausage Relay Race. Each
chapter picked 4 members to be on the team and teams had to cross the room
with the “sausage” (actually a pool noodle)
between their knees and transfer it to the teammate. The roar of
laughter was loud and everyone had fun! The winning team was South Florida
Winnie Gators!
Sunday morning continental breakfast was served
before we went our separate ways. It was a fun weekend and we were happy
to welcome our group back together! Our schedule is published on our
website www.winniegators.org,
and in the WIT magazine. Plan to visit our meetings if you’re in our
area. Our welcome mat is always out for WIT friends!
Nancy Miller, President
239-565-3115