2010 SABCC Christmas Brunch

Noel Eagleson welcomes an SABCC'er

You really don't have to twist an SABBC'ers arm too tightly to get him or her to agree to meet as a group for a meal. The annual Christmas brunch is one of the club's most popular events and this year's edition was no exception with 52 club members and guests present for the 'do'. The club hands out service awards, presents the selected charity with their British Car Festival proceeds donation and serves as the December meeting.

In a break with tradition, the appointed committee recommended to the membership that we find a less expensive venue since the hotels downtown that have hosted the event have gotten quite pricey. Last year's event was over $40.00 per person and with the club paying the half the cost, it hit the treasury pretty hard. Since most of the better hotels downtown are owned by the same entity, competition is not as heated as it once was.

Committee chair Donna Cunningham arranged for the club to have the event at the well-loved Spot of Tea in downtown Mobile. The brunch was in an intimate private area at the back of the restaurant. A special menu was developed for the event with the total cost of the meal for members running only $15.00, again with SABCC covering half of that amount. 

The venue seating was arranged with the help of Ron Wolverton, Becky Kramer and Richard and Donna Cunningham. As the last chair was put in place, the SABCC gang began to arrive. Club VP for Membership, Jack Ross handed out the useful membership list booklet with the most up to date listing of contact information of the South Alabama British Car Club to the arriving crowd.

Enjoying the afternoon

We found our seats and began to enjoy the company of those around us. There's never any shortage of discussion topics and it seems like we always learn something new about the people who share our passion for the British car hobby.

The staff served our beverage selections quickly and took our orders. The menu was heavy with seafood and Hollandaise sauce and the portions served were generous indeed. I chose the Belgian waffle (which came with two eggs and two sausage patties) and was very pleased. Everyone at our table commented on the quality of the food and level of service.

Check presentation to the charity

Club President Noel Eagleson called the business portion of the meeting to order and set to presenting the club's awards for the year. This year, awards were presented to:
 

Most Creative - Don Pritchett

Grillmaster - Gloria Herrington

Colourful Character - Pierre Fontana

Rookie of the Year - John Shaw

Most Suffering Spouse - Elisabeth Ogletree

Most Valuable Player -Yours Truly (!)

Attendance Award - Sandy & Sam Walter

Member of the Year - Michael King

Outgoing club secretary, Sandy Walter was presented a special hand painted platter with the club's logo and personalized for her in commemoration of her 16 years of service.  Thanks, Sandy!

Finally the highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of the check to the club's selected charity, Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy. Sheree Archer, representing Ozanam, spoke to the group about their mission and their needs and invited the membership to visit them and see the work the they do. 

After the obligatory group photo, the members went their separate ways content in the knowledge that another busy year awaits us in 2011.