July 30: A Most Wonderful Affair

Last night, I played co-host to a group of 35 people for the progressive dinner that I mentioned in my blog earlier this week. We didn't publicize it much, basically because it was a "pilot event" and we wanted to see how the idea would take. The person who orchestrated the whole thing was friend Brian Murphy, a fellow triathlete racing for the same cause.

Brian is awesome in generating awareness. Not only was Brian able to get the press interested in the story (Click here to read the front page story in the Observer and Eccentric) but he did all of the behind the scenes work. He got the restaurants, made up promotional materials and other things, and then topped it all off being an extremely gracious host. The event was a lot of fun, very well received by those that attended, and ended up raising over $1,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!

I was honored to be joined my my wonderful dad and my good friends Heather and Piotr. Piotr is the father of Lucas, the beautiful 3-year old boy that lost his life to Leukemia. Heather is Luc's aunt. It meant a lot for them to join us that night, and it was very meaningful to raise a glass to honor Luc and others that are battling or have lost their fight.

The event took us up and down Big Beaver Road in Troy. We started at McCormick and Schmicks for a wonderful array of appetizers including calimari, soft-shelled crab and sushi. (Thank you to John, the manager, who was a fantastic host for us!) After the food and a tasty beverage, we moved on to Maggianos where we were treated to a choice of two fresh salads. From there, we moved onto Kona Grill, one of Troy's newest (and quite popular) restaurants for our entree course. Choosing our main dish was difficult since they gave us five different delectible choices (and they ALL looked great!). We finished up at the famous Morton's Steakhouse for dessert, including the legendary hot chocolate cake. YUM! (Thank you to Andrea, Morton's banquet manager!)

The event proved so successful that restaurants have already expressed interest in another event soon. I now get questions from friends wondering when the next one will be. (Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on that!)

I want to say a very special thanks for someone who just doesn't get mentioned enough in my blog, Gary (my husband). Gary has been extremely supportive of all of my efforts associated with this cause; from my training to the fundraising. (For example, Gary elected to babysit the girls so that I could help with the event.) He knows how I thrive with a full plate, and without him, that plate would come crashing to the ground. So THANK YOU GARY. You are an awesome dad, and awesome friend, and a wonderful husband.


























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Thanks to so many of you, I'm almost to my goal of $5,000! Check out my progress at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/DunCAN

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