| Mike Brown Charity recap |
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by Tom Kiernan
The rain came early, and stuck around
but failed to completely dampen the festivities. Crowds worked their way
around the tents and into the Thirty Buck finding enough dry patches to hold
a plate of spectacular food, juggle a beer, and renew old friendships or perhaps start a few new ones.
Manning the grill was Rick Thayer and Bill Hibler. The two of them cranked out enough sausage, brats and hotdogs to feed an army but they also expertly cooked seven huge tenderloins to perfection.
Mrs. Thayer was ever present with pans of potatoes and salads. If you went hungry you weren't paying attention.
The silent auction started slow but built momentum as the evening wore on. Bids seemed to increase at a rate similar to the kegs being changed out in the beer tent. The Bears tickets donated by The Thayer boys fetched $450.
The Cubs tickets were a shark tank feeding frenzy and even the White Sox tickets fetched a handsome price proving that Joliet isn't dominated by Yuppies. A $100 gift certificate to Truth went for $250, showing how badly Joliet desperately needs fine dining spots.
One lucky bidder was able to corner the Sunglass market and was seen discussing plans with the Ruth brothers to have a Kiosk fabricated at their shop.
The raffle was won by a gentleman who fittingly was the largest single
purchaser of tickets at $1000. Showing that the Steinbrenner theory of dominance by acquisition is still the way to go. Also, amusingly, the purchaser lived in rural Elburn Illinois. That sealed Vince Benigni's fate for Sunday morning and into the afternoon as he had to deliver the Big
Screen Television. With the cost of filling his tank a couple of times Vince could have bought one of those bad boys for himself.
Travelers found there way from as far away as Seattle, Washington and Colorado. Celebrity sightings were frequent, and yes ladies, that was Roadhouse's Roger Hewlitt looking as cut as in his All-World line-backing days for the Hilltoppers.
Coaches Sharp and Coach Voss were cheerfully listening to stories over and over again. The Brown family (and extended family) was out in force. Uncle Joe Broderick even seemed to be enjoying himself.
The numbers: We are pleased to say, that with your help, we set yet another record for receipts. When all is settled we will net out over $28,000.
We'd like to thank everyone that attended, and bid on the auction and raffle items to help us achieve our goal. We hope everyone had fun in spite of the weather, and plans to return next year.
The money raised will go a long way
towards making the dream of a Joliet Catholic Academy education a realization for some very deserving young men and women.
Mike Brown loved a good party. He also loved Joliet Catholic, his family, his friends and people in general. Mike was smiling Saturday. He'll be forever in our hearts and
thoughts.
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"Any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is
that moment he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted
on the field of battle . . . victorious."
Vince Lombardi
Our Lady of Victory . . .
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