In the fall of 2002 we came up with a fundraising idea for the Branch. It seemed the ladies of Princeton needed an event to attend that they could dress up for and have a good time. This came to fruition in March of 2003.
Enter the first annual, hopefully, Diamond Dinner.
We knew what they wanted; a semi-formal affair with entertainment and perhaps a bit of class. Enter the Legion Hunks.
To put on this event we needed at least 24 male volunteers. Originally we were going to put the obligation of feeding 100 ladies in someone else’s hands but as fate had it this was going to be on the onus of the guys and they came through.
Sixteen on the floor to serve, another six in the kitchen to put together a gourmet meal and let’s not forget the bartenders and runners.
We all met two days before not having a clue what we were going to do. We set up the tables, decorated the hall and came up with a plan of action. The guys knew their stations and what was expected of them to treat the ladies to what we hoped would be a first class evening.
Everybody came through. 100 ladies, 16 servers (hunks), eager bartenders and a crew in the kitchen (playing it by ear), 100 roses, lots of door prizes and $1,000 worth of diamonds up for grabs. And it worked! Never have I seen such a motley crew put on such a fantastic evening for our ladies. We behaved; they didn’t! A party that is hard to describe unless you were there.
Lest I forget: $1,500 profit for our branch to help us maintain our worthwhile assistance to our veterans and our community.
Here we are ten years later and this event appears to be as popular as ever. A few things have changed over the years. Better prizes, bigger raffle.
A 50/50 draw and live music to follow in the lounge. As this is the 10th annual Diamond Dinner we wanted to do something special so we increased the value of the diamonds and added a $1, 000trip to the prizes.
Because of this the ticket price will be $40 this year, which still includes two beverages, but be assured the increase has all gone to fund the extra prizes. As always you cannot reserve tickets but due to demand we have increased the number of tickets from 100 to 120.
In fairness to all waiting in line to purchase tickets this year there will be a limit of four tickets per person. Thank you all for your ongoing support and special thanks to our corporate sponsors,
The Gold Room Jewellers, Safeway Floral (New Westminster), and ExpediaCruiseshipCenter (Penticton).
Great for the Guys. Grand for the Gals. Good for the Legion. Dinner date is April 14. I hope to see you there.
Tickets on sale March 1 at 9 a.m. at the Legion office.