Team Update
Christmas came early for Eric, with a brand-new smoker! With Thanksgiving in his sights and 21 people to serve, he was able to smoke two turkeys at once! Equipped with his new toy, Eric, and his friend from Florence, have entered a big BBQ competition coming up in January 2022. It looks like they will be practicing BBQing ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, and chicken.
Sarah and Peter savored more time with family, unexpectedly celebrating her (last) grandpa’s life, visiting her aunt and uncle in Arizona, enjoying a visit from one of Peter’s brothers, and spending time in Colorado with Sarah’s parents, brother, and soon-to-be-sister-in-law’s family for Thanksgiving. They also found it refreshing to attend a couple in-person concerts once again.
November found Katherine spending a week in the Cabo San Lucas area. During that time, she swam alongside a whale shark, danced underwater with juvenile sea lions, viewed beautiful fish while snorkeling, watched newly-hatched sea turtles find their way to the ocean, boated alongside a group of eight humpback whales, and felt like she was able to hit an internal “reset” button. It was a beautiful time with her niece, son, and daughter-in-law.
The holiday season is certainly busy for Larry and Laurie. In addition to the normal family gatherings, they attended the Boys & Girls Club fundraiser and then celebrated Laurie’s birthday with a trip to Atlanta to see their daughter, Jenna, with a stop in Las Vegas for a few shows. For Laurie’s River City Rock Academy term final, she sang “American Girl” by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, “Love Stinks“ by the J. Giles Band, and “Play that Funky Music” by Wild Cherry.
Out and About
Providing a bright spot before the end of this year, we were a sponsor for Family Building Block’s Gala of Trees, which supports their work in keeping families together and safe by partnering with parents and providing services for children. This was the first in-person charitable event our team has attended together in almost two years.
Eric, Katherine, Larry, and Sarah in front of a beautifully-lit tree at Family Building Blocks’ Gala of Trees event.
Larry and Sarah also enjoyed supporting the Boys & Girls Club by sporting their favorite college team gear and attending the Ducks-vs.-Beavers-themed auction benefiting the Club’s after-school and summer programming for kids.
On a side note, the overwhelmingly positive response to our new tradition of supporting Marion Polk Food Share at this time of year has been extremely heartwarming and rewarding – thank you!
