Winetasting gala: fund and provides for a great cause

The 22nd Annual Wine Tasting and Auction, sponsored by the Odessa Healthcare Foundation, was held Friday, May 3, at the Odessa Community Center to raise money for a new defibrillator for the hospital’s emergency room.

A special auction was also held to ask cash donations for the creation of a summer recreation program for Odessa-area residents. Odessa High School student Griffey Powell, who will be a senior next year, is spearheading the fund raising effort and organizing the program as his senior culminating project.

Nancy Floether, current president of the OHF, thanked all the volunteers and donors for their efforts. She and the other members of her board of directors worked hard to make this year’s auction a success. Also on the board and instrumental in planning the event were Dr. Linda Powell, Sue Null, Carol Schott, Keith Schafer, Brenik Iverson, Lecia Fink, Gary DelForge, Carol Bell, Matthew Kagele and Lise Ott.

The wines sampled by this year’s crowd came from the Ste. Chapelle, Maryhill, 14 Hands, Amavi, Kennedy Shah, Washington Hills, Pend D’Oreille, Waitsburg Cellars and Waterbrook wineries. Pouring the wine samples were volunteers Doug Starkel, Lani Schorzman, Neil Fink and Tom Null.

Microbrew sampling was provided by Rocky Coulee Brewing Co. of Odessa, which offered their Fireweed Honey Blonde, Dunkel, Creme Copper and Light Summer Ale beers, served up by Larry Weber and Linnie Schafer.

Jacob Barth from Chuck Yarbro Auctioneers and Real Estate Services, a third generation company with their head office in Moses Lake, directed the bidding action, while Clark Kagele provided his services as master of ceremonies. Dr. “Vanna” Powell again acted as head hostess, displaying each auction item to the crowd.

The live auction included everything from getaway packages, sports, camping and Odessa pool passes to quilts, specialty foods and concerts for a total of 33 items in all. Donors were local businesses and non-profit organizations, individuals and various businesses throughout the state.

The “Live On the Side” auction included items from local and out-of-town merchants and local individuals: body armor from Experience MotorSports of Moses Lake, a framed photograph from Ott Insurance, a bistro outdoor bar set from Ramm Hardware, an auto-wind air-hose reel with 50-foot hose from Walter Implement in Odessa, Disneyland tickets from the Disney Corporation, a wine rack and wine from Southern Wine & Spirits, a quilt from Patrick Gies (made by his wife Patricia), a 1.5-hour plane ride from Stan and Debby Dammel and a Davenport Hotel gift certificate worth nearly $200 from the engineering firm of USKH.

The silent auction included 111 items, an area rug, ice-skating tickets, steak dinners, dolls, handmade items, just to name a few. An additional eight individuals and businesses made cash donations to the OHF fund.

Another special event was the “Ace in the Hole” game. Odessa Clinic manager Barb Schlimmer sold chances at $20 each to pick an item from the live auction table without having to bid on it. There were two winners, Tim Marshall and Terria Smith, both of Odessa.

Volunteers were Barb Schlimmer, Marianne Iksic, Sally Kagele, Mark DeWulf, Deanna Lobe, Sara Fink, Deanna Nelson, Mary Schorzman, James Smith, Pam Williams, Jean Starkel, Patty Williams, Jeanie Read, Riley Allen, JoAnna Thompson, Sandy Libsack, Bill Bell, Sherie Heimbigner, Kamie Iverson, Tamara Winfrey, Marcus Horak, Terri King and Todd King.

Desserts were provided at a separate silent auction table. They were donated by Merleen Smith, Kerry Scheller, Ellen Holman, Jena Meise, Bev Scherr, Deborah Walter (who provided three of them) and Charlene Kagele.

In the past, the OHF has provided a hospice room at the hospital, refurbished critical-care rooms, purchased furniture and medical equipment, renovated the long-term care dining room, remodeled the physical therapy area, remodeled the entire hospital (nearly), purchased digital X-ray equipment, built a garage for the new hospital van, purchased and installed Automatic Emergency Defibrillators throughout the Odessa community, purchased a 4-wheel-drive ambulance and purchased a chemistry analyzer and vital-sign machine. All of the items listed have contributed to the well-being and/or comfort of patients and their loved ones and have ensured that the Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center has much of the same state-of-the-art equipment as larger, big-city hospitals.

Next year’s event will be held on May 2, 2014, always on the first Friday in May. Not only is the event a worthwhile cause, it is also a social opportunity. With hundreds of items up for auction, both silent and live, there is truly something for everyone. See you next year.