Santa Cruz Woodies A Chapter of the National Woodie Club
What a way to start the year! The Santa Cruz Woodie Club had their annual Installation Dinner on the evening of January 13th, 2024. The event was held at the Portuguese Hall in Santa Cruz and was attended by around 100 members, and they were not disappointed. Except for the city of Santa Cruz Christmas parade, it has been about three months since we last got together.
The next order of business was to introduce the emcee, Rowland Baker, for the rest of the evening. Now, this is important because he is the one who assigns the order of the tables that get in line for dinner. He also tries to retain order throughout the night. This year, Angela Blessing Catering out did themselves on the dinner. Everyone raved how good the meals were all night long.
The dinner started off with members catching up over hors-d’oeuvres and spirits. Along with happy hour, the opening of the silent auction items was put on display.
Outgoing President Phil Iatomase welcomed guests, current members, and new members to the first business meeting of 2024.
Past Presidents were introduced, as well as other acknowledgements of special guests. A moment of silence was held for those members we have lost over the last twelve months. After dinner, the rush was on to get those final bids in for the silent auction before it closed.
After the silent bidding ended it was time for the business portion on the evening. One of the important items covered was the upcoming events for the year.
The events include:
- Woodies in the Valley
- Santa Cruz Spring Cruise and National Drive Your Woodie Day
- Woodies on the Wharf
- National Woodie Meet
- Woodies at the Beach
- Good-Guys
- Wavecrest
- Woodies at the Rock
- Doheny Wood
- Santa Cruz City Christmas parade
Check out the Santa Cruz Woodies calendar to confirm the event dates.
A few presentations were made, and then the moment we were all waiting for, the live auction. Our two favorite auctioneers, Rowland Baker and Don Iglesias, handled the duties with their expertise.
The live auction included items such as a Featherston treasure woodie box filled with woodie goodies, a preferred parking place on the wharf during Woodies on the Wharf, a collection of every WOW poster, along with posters from the pandemic years, Eric Dressen’s old school skateboard deck and a handmade custom surfboard tray with matching drink coasters.
The last order of the evening was to introduce the Officers for 2024. Phil passed the crown to me as President, and I passed the Vice President crown to John Fleming. Special gifts were given to Phil for the tireless work he performed all year long. His shoes will be hard to fill.
This year’s dinner was by far one of the best, with so many people complimenting the dinner and festivities. A special thanks to Arlene Solis and her crew for all the work that went into the organizing the auctions.