Santa Cruz Woodies A Chapter of the National Woodie Club
Saturday night, January 19th, was an epic time at the Santa Cruz Woodies’ Installation Dinner. The silent auction was over the top, with many great collectibles, memorabilia and one of a kind items. The live auction led by our very own auctioneer, Rowland Baker, was raucous, fun, lively and raised a heck of a lot of money for the club. We’ll be able to use the funds to pay for the great Woodies on the Wharf events coming up on June 20th thru the 23rd.
A special thanks to Arlene, Joe and Jennifer Solis for their many hours spent collecting very cool items and organizing the auction. A sampling of the items included a Coppertone advertisement from the ’60s, vintage coolers, O’Neill’s Surfshop sign, posters, wooden artwork by Pete Passof and Ron Heiden, vintage car parts, and surf memorabilia and collectibles galore.
Live Auction Items included a beautiful bowl from Pete Passof, gorgeous wooden palm fronds and a wooden picture frame handcrafted by Ron Heiden, a vintage Rick Griffin poster, Premier Parking spots for the Woodies on the Wharf celebrations, and a custom surfboard by Bob Pearson that will include a picture of Rob Konradt and Kathy Campbell’s woodie on the deck. Congrats to Kat and Rob for being the highest bidders!
A hearty thank you goes out to the Alves’ family for organizing the event, the Iatomase’ family for coordinating the caterers, and the Baker family for all of their help with the auction and event. Jim Vickery had a great slide show of past WOWs that brought back lots of memories of the last 25 years. Dave and Andi Welles sent out the invitations and collected dinner reservations. Barb Bacon, once again, provided Polynesian flowered leis for the officers and the Benfield’s brought pineapples and homemade fudge for the tables. As always, Toni Wilkerson organized volunteers for the set-up and clean-up of the hall.
Our VIP’s included National Woodie Club Vice President, Wayne Yada, and his wife Mary Jayne, Western Director, Ron Dugger, and his wife Pat, Bob Pearson of Pearson Arrow Surfboards, Jane McKenzie, President of Santa Cruz Longboard Union, and Kim Stoner, Surf historian. We were also pleased to have club members Paul and Linda Lyons join us at the event. Paul and Linda lost their home in the Paradise fire recently, but it didn’t dampen their enthusiasm towards life and their resolve to rebuild their home and to begin the restoration of a new woodie!
Our newly installed officers include Andi Welles (Secretary), Kathryn Benson (Treasurer), Joe Solis (Vice-President) and Don Iglesias (President). Cathy Stefanki, as outgoing President, was recognized by Pete Passof with a handcrafted wooden vase, inlaid with turquoise. Also presented to Cathy on behalf of the Club was a framed photograph of her favorite beach. The photograph was taken by Bob Barbour, and the frame was hand-crafted by Ron Heiden.
In the words of the renowned philosopher, Jeff Spicoli (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), “Life is Short, Let’s Party!”
Cheers to all of you and come join us for the 25th celebration of Woodies on the Wharf!
Don Iglesias
President