This year we had our annual “anniversary” volunteer recognition dinner in May. Perhaps
you are new to ODB or had to miss the event this year, so I want to tell you a little about
it so you’ll be sure to join us next year.
The evening started out with appetizers and entertainment on the courtyard. Our
entertainment was the Peninsula Banjo Band and they were great. They played old foot-tapping
favorites for over an hour; lots of us sang along, and it is fair to say “they didn’t miss
a beat.” I’d normally call this a warm-up, but the evening was a bit warm too (we broke 90
that day) and many of us were searching out the shade because “cool” was good.
The appetizers and dinner were prepared by the Art Institute – Sunnyvale International
Culinary Academy (with the exception of Elaine Ho’s Won-Tons, a treat we all wait for). The
theme was international and we saw flags from many countries decorating the table when we
were seated in the hall at 6:15 p.m. David Barnes, ODB Program Manager, was Master of
Ceremonies and kept us entertained between courses.
The dinner is a time to honor all volunteers and to thank them for the many hours they
have spent in making ODB a success. But we also have a few awards to help focus on what has
been special during the last year at ODB. So let me list the awards for the 26th year of ODB:
The Bread Loaf award was given to the Grevera family. Barbara is a long time
volunteer and has obviously instilled a love for ODB in her children. Not only have
they volunteered at ODB when their schedules allowed it, but her daughter donated to
ODB the proceeds of an award she received.
The Staff of Life award for a key supplier was given to the Art Institute –
Sunnyvale. They volunteered their time in preparing the dinner this year, came in
to cook and serve a lunch, and have consistently donated food from their own kitchen.
A Certificate of Achievement awards was given to the Trader Joe’s drivers for
loading up the TONS of food that Trader Joe’s has donated over the last year and
bringing these gifts into our refrigerators and freezers; rain, shine, or holidays.
A special “Iron Chef” award was given to Arnold Siegel who has been “head cook”
three days a week for the past few years. The “Iron Chef” exemplifies both creativity
and stamina; Arnold excels at both!
We were able to record an income from this year’s dinner due to donations that covered
the entertainment and the wine; the donation of time, talent and food for the dinner
from the Art Institute; and donations of prizes for a raffle, a fun twist, for all
those who bought the raffle tickets. We owe a great THANK YOU to all the many
donors that helped make this event a success!
