This year’s theme – 007 – practically mandated the joke, and party-goers saw it coming from a mile away.
‘I’m Bondy,? said the president of Clarkston Optimist Club at the organization’s annual dinner-dance fundraiser. ‘Rob Bondy.?
About 100 people attended Saturday’s event to raise money for the group’s many youth-oriented projects.
‘It was great,? said Bondy. ‘Attendance was down a bit because of the economy, but it was much more laid back this year and everyone had a good time. It was a lot of fun.?
The annual event is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year, and featured a 50/50 raffle as well as both live and silent auctions.
Popular live auction items included a Tiger Baseball package – 4 seats in the lower bowl – which incited a two-person bidding war and eventually sold for $1,000.
Lunch and 18 holes for two at Oakland Hills went for $450, and a week-long stay in a Vanderbilt, Mich., cabin pulled in $400.
A full-page ad in The Clarkston News went for $300.
The live auction also included items such as a cocktail basket, Jamaican vacation, Pistons memorabilia, and tour of the Independence Township fire station, including a ‘hands on look into the life of a firefighter.?
Some 55 items and packages were also up for bid in the silent auction, including a one-year trash and recycling pick-up donated by Smith’s Disposal.
‘We’re fighting over garbage,? said Sherry Regiani, who engaged in a spirited, but good-natured bidding war with fellow Optimist Mary Jane Limburg.
When the evening was over, Regiani emerged victorious in the rubbish row.
The Dan Rafferty Band provided plenty of popular dance tunes to get the crowd up and moving. The band has performed at several other Optimist events and is well-liked by the group.
When all was said and done, Bondy estimated the event raised about $20,000 to fund the group’s many projects.
The Clarkston Optimist Club is one of about 3,500 Optimist International chapters worldwide, with the motto ‘bringing out the best in kids.?
Each club is autonomous and therefore has the flexibility to orient service projects directly to the needs of the community.
The Clarkston Optimists sponsor Junior Optimist Clubs at all levels from elementary up to high school.
‘The have the most youth clubs in the state,? said Lou Moss, the 2006-2007 Michigan Optimist governor, who attended Saturday’s event. ‘The members are truly dedicated to kids and the community.?
The club also sponsors programs such as high school and music scholarships, oratorical and essay contests, basketball competitions, and youth gold outings.
And last year, the scholarship program was expanded to include students from Renaissance High School, the Clarkston Community School’s alternative high school.
‘We weren’t doing justice to all the kids in Clarkston,? said Sandy Diederich, a longtime Optimist member who helped put together a proposal supporting expansion of traditional scholarship criteria. ‘These kids have had different obstacles in their life, but they are just as deserving.?
While the traditional scholarship awards are based on academic achievement and community involvement, she said, Renaissance students are awarded based on character and commitment to personal growth.
Regular Clarkston Optimist Club meetings are held at the Liberty Golf and Banquet Center each Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. For meeting and membership information, call Roger Deiderich at 248-625-5915.