by Russell Marcks - Vice-Commodore
Well…like Christmas, another Rendezvous come and gone. A Rendezvous that was both a bust and absolutely magnificent…all at the same time!
As everyone knows, January 18th through the 20th turned out to be a snow storm. The threat of this snow storm forced most persons to travel on Friday, a rather decent travel day, rather than on Saturday, a day when one really didn’t need to be out on the road! And then the fun began.
Mike Petsch sharing his experiences on his sailing trip from Iceland to Ireland.
On Sunday evening, our speaker made the decision to cancel his engagement due to weather. Harvey and I worked at a replacement speaker and found one…only to find he was unable to come. Of course, I had suggestions and offers from several persons as to what we could do to save our Rendezvous including Hank’s ‘Survival at Sea’ presentation and Tim’s Rear Commodore report regarding next summer’s activities…but no primary speaker. As we gathered in the Big Bear Saloon on Friday evening, you may imagine, I had concerns for Saturday’s festivities! Then Art Harden approached me. “Here’s the deal Russ…Mike Petsch has a slide show for his sailing trip from Iceland to Ireland. He’s willing to do that”. Thanks guys…you saved my butt. And Mike, you may have ended up as our third choice, but there is no doubt in my mind you were our best choice! But things didn’t end there!
Saturday morning, I welcomed George Harizal as he arrived at Sawmill. But I wasn’t to fond of his welcome! “Sorry Russ, I just talked to the band leader. They’re not coming!”.
Commodore Don Petsch recognizes incoming Commodore Harvey Rickert during the change of watch ceremony.
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Here we go again! But in the end, that worked out well. It just so happened I signed up for a free Spotify account some weeks prior. George was able to get me the band’s playlist. With a quick self-taught lesson on how to setup a playlist in Spotify, I created such a list for the evening dance. Then, George braved the elements, went back home and brought his speakers. You know the one’s, the same speakers he uses when the Vermilion concert band plays at the marina. Now we’re set and the rest is history!
Mike gave us a phenomenal presentation, Harvey conducted a great Trustees meeting, my lovely wife helped me decorate the dance hall, Teresa Bonica, the Sales Manager at Sawmill stepped in to replace her bartender who couldn’t make it (Yes! We were almost without a bartender!), and the evening went off without a hitch. Well…there were two Hitch’s, but they were quite welcome.
Brenda Marcks, The Petsch Sisters, and Janell Lundgren prepare for the big USO dance.
I’ve received many accolades for making this happen, but the real thanks go to Mike, George, Hank, Tim, and everyone else who helped, no matter how small the contribution. During all of this, Harvey said to me, “Don’t worry Russ, I’ve never known this group to NOT have a good time!”. He was right. So let us all take a bow for making this a great Rendezvous.
Check out all of the great photos from the 2019 Winter Redezvous by clicking here —> 2019 Winter Rendezvous Gallery.