Saturday,
August 16, 2003 - 7:00pm
Blue Ash Embassy Suites Hotel
Cincinnati Ohio
As reported by Bob Leary
High Cincinnatians Webmaster
One-hundred-thirty-two (132) tall men and
women including past and present members of the
High Cincinnatians Tall Club, dozens of
alumni and guests from around the country
gathered in this northern Cincinnati suburb to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of southwest
Ohio's chapter of
TCI (Tall Clubs
International).
The
weekend-long event climaxed Saturday evening on
a "high" note with a banquet and awards ceremony
honoring past and present officers and royalty,
several charter members, and our special guest
and friend Sandy Allen.
Attendance exceeded expectations, but the hotel
staff and weekend co-chairs
Colette and
Mayla managed to accommodate everyone,
providing an entertaining evening of dining and
dancing. The prevailing comments were high
praise for everyone who helped make this event
one to remember!
Raffle Raises
Funds For Marfan Foundation
Most
TCI weekends include fundraising
activities to benefit the Marfan Foundation.
Solid Gold Weekend attendees bought
raffle tickets ($5 per arms-length or $10 per
"wingspan") and bid on a number prizes
donated by area businesses (click
here for a partial sponsor list).
Several hundred dollars were raised for the
charity that helps look for a cure for Marfan
Syndrome, an affliction that effects mainly
people of tall stature. The exact amount
of the resulting donation will be announced at
the September 2003 membership meeting.
Chicago
Club Sends Award-Winning
Group
New
and old tall friends traveled many thousands of
miles to party with the High C's, coming from
several neighboring Ohio clubs, plus
Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Miami, Rochester
NY, Toronto, Atlanta, New Jersey, Oregon, Iowa, North Carolina
and California! (Who did I leave
out?) Five decades of tall memories
were exchanged while the deejay provided a great
mixture of current dance favorites and golden
oldies.
As
they often do, the Paramount Tall Club of
Chicago won the "travel trophy" for
traveling the most "person-miles" traveled.
The
Miami Florida
club came in second place, while the
Atlanta Georgia
club won third place.
Other awards
were given in the following categories:
|
Best Costume (group) |
Columbus High Society |
|
Best Costume (female) |
Marilyn Cleary |
High Cincinnatians Tall Club |
|
Best Costume (male) |
Mike Jeske |
Tip Toppers Club of Detroit |
| |
|
|
|
Best Hugger (female) |
Amy Burkhard |
Paramount Tall Club of Chicago |
|
Best Hugger (male) |
Leon "Holly" Hollingsworth |
Paramount Tall Club of Chicago |
Golden
Opportunity
For Tall
Friendships
Some
people were attending their very first Tall Club
weekend. Acting as ambassadors on behalf
of the host club, veteran weekend travelers like
Dottie, Bev, Jean, Jim, Walter, Norma, Mike,
Bob and Carol (just to name a few!) helped
make these newcomers plus alumni and guests feel
welcome! The TCI spirit is a vital
part of all great weekends. We thank
our tall friends from sister clubs for helping
us extend this warm welcome to our newest
contacts!
It's
always fascinating to watch old friendships
rekindle and new ones form at any Tall Club
weekend. With attendance reaching triple
digits, the High Cincinnatians Solid Gold Weekend
provided an excellent socializing atmosphere for tall men
and women from all walks of life and from a wide variety
of locations throughout the
U.S.
and
Canada.
This
weekend even had at least one multi-generation
team in attendance: Alice Beebe (a member
in the mid-fifties), her daughter
Lyn Leary (our current V.P. of
Membership), and Lyn's daughter
Allison Smith. And a former Miss
Tall Texas, Lyn's
Aunt Nadine, traveled from San Diego to
join us!
Sandy Allen
Perhaps the biggest thrill for me was the
opportunity to finally meet
Sandy Allen, who was graciously transported
to and from Indianapolis by veteran club member
Peter Vorum. Sandy is the world's
tallest living woman, measuring 7' 7.25"
and has been a friend of the club for the past
several years.
While a group of members have been making trips
to see Sandy every few months, this was an
opportunity for everyone else to get to know
her. I discovered that she enjoys oldies
from the sixties and seventies, and has an
excellent sense of humor. Sandy made many
dozens of new friends this weekend, and we are
looking forward to having her return in a couple
of weeks for our pool party (August 30, 2003).
A Ton Of
Work - A Thousand Thanks!
The
weekend was a huge success in large part because
of the endless hours of dedicated leadership of
weekend co-chairs
Colette Williams and
Mayla Ates and the
committee members
that organized the various aspects of the
weekend.
Many
other volunteers helped with unloading and setup
of food and music equipment, guest
transportation and event hosting, t-shirt and
ticket sales, registration, serving, bartending,
entertainment, decorations, prize and donation
gathering...just to name a few! It was a
spectacular demonstration of what a great group
of tall friends we are blessed to have!
A
special thanks goes to Dave Byrne for "everything"
he did (registration, flyers, contacting
alumni...to name just a few!).
After-hours manager
Lyn Leary wishes to
extend a huge thanks to
Mayla Ates'
mother, Deloris for preparing many of the
delicious treats enjoyed in the hospitality
suite during the wee hours of the morning,
especially the award-winning turkey salad and
colorful relish trays! And, it was great
having Allison, Debbie, Lori and Ken
helping out...
There are so many club members that helped that
we will set up a separate area later to make
sure they are all properly recognized for their
contributions to the cause!
Finally, the staff and management of the Blue
Ash Embassy Suites Hotel is to be
commended for providing an elegant atmosphere,
professional service, and the flexibility to
handle our unique needs and clean up our messes!
Such treatment is rarely available for the
generously discounted rates they offered!
They even allowed us to use their workout and
swimming facilities until 3:00 am both nights!
More To Come!
There is still much work to do, namely preparing
a complete weekend summary and tribute in a
special photo presentation on this website.
If you have photos or stories you would like to
share,
please click here to email them to the webmaster.
We can also scan "regular film" photos if you'll
let us borrow them! Submitted items will
be added to the site as they are received and
time permits, so check back every few days to
see if there is anything new!
Meanwhile, your very sleepy webmaster and
after-hours deejay is taking a couple of days
off to catch up on sleep! Thanks again
everybody for a fabulous tribute to fifty years
of tall awareness in Cincinnati! This
event is bound to have a profound impact on the
growth and prosperity of the High Cincinnatians,
providing life-long friendships for many future
generations of tall Tri-State residents!
Slide shows now posted
featuring photos from:
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