Ride Ataxia Events: Truckee Fundraiser

It is Super Bowl Sunday, that upset was pretty sweet. Before I tell you about the amazing event in Truckee last night, lets reflect back to this day last year: http://rideataxia.blogspot.com/2007/02/superbowl-sunday.html.

Last night, I was in Truckee, CA at a fundraiser that was hosted by my uncle Neal and aunt Libby Lacativo. I was planning on skiing on Saturday at the Disabled Sports Ski School at Alpine Meadows. However, on Friday I woke up with a fever which forced me to cancel my lessons. This unexpected cancellation may have worked in my favor because it was an absolute blizzard in Truckee this weekend and Saturday may not have been a good time to re-learn how to ski after five years of inactive ski seasons.

So I stayed home from work on Friday and Headed up to Truckee on Saturday morning. We (me and my parents) headed up the hill against the advice of friends and weathermen. We took a less travelled route which allowed us to avoid crowds but presented rougher roads.

Traffic and conditions from the drive up.

Before we were halfway there, we passed a truck that was on its roof in the middle of the lane. CalTrans was taking care of it, nice work guys.

WE arrived in good time and began helping with the set up. I was amazed at the variety and quality of the raffle and silent auction items. There were 59 items all together and some of the standout items were: Ski Lessons, lift tickets, airline tickets, an ipod, framed photos, wine etc.

A few of the items.

The most wanted item in the silent auction was a set of 8 origami figures folded with one dollar bills and placed in a museum style frame. This item was crafted and donated by Gladys Lacativo (my grandmother) people loved it so much that the winning bid was $150 and Grandma is being asked to make another one for another $150.

When all was said and done, the event raised $3,900 and despite the insane amounts of snow, we had an overwhelming turnout and we all had a lot of fun. Good friends, good food and good fun for a good cause.

There were a bunch of people that made this night run smoothly including my cousin Angela who busted her tail to balance the books at the end of the night.

Angela and Neal drawing raffle winners.

Thank you to Libby and Neal for organizing this event. Libby spent many late nights following up with donors and making sure the displays for the items looked truly professional.