Unit 3-S Holiday Luncheon
Brenda Newitter
Unit 3-S celebrated the holidays with a lovely brunch at the Vistas on Saturday, December 16. There were 50 residents who attended the fun affair. The food was yummy and we all enjoyed getting together to talk and catch up on what everyone had been doing in 2017. We were glad to meet new neighbors and sad to see old friends leaving SaddleBrooke in 2018. Everyone had a great time and will look forward to a fun and happy New Year.
Unit 21 Light Up The Night event
Jim Hagedon
An annual tradition for Unit 21 residents, our “Light Up the Night” event on December 1 helped get the 100-plus attendees into the holiday spirit! Unit 21 folks travel around the unit to see all of the holiday lights, stopping along the way at three homes for appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches. New this year was a final stop at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center for homemade desserts, coffee and a festive performance of holiday music by the “Brooke Sisters.”
“I want to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who contributed their homes, food and ideas for the best ever ‘Light Up the Night’ event,” said Kate Elfstrom who, along with her committee, made the evening a joy for all who attended. “I could not have done it without all of the help,” Kate added. “Whenever we needed help, someone volunteered.”
Special thanks go out to the folks who volunteered their homes for the evening: Karen and Mark Johnson on Ocotillo Canyon Drive; Sandy and Steve Heinlein on Arroyo Way and Carole and Dan Chase on Arroyo Way. Also a special thank you to Pat Broers who coordinated the dessert event and musical activity at the SaddleBrooke One activity center.
We’re already looking forward to next year!
Unit 21 Holiday Dinner Dance
Jim Hagedon
December 12 was a night to remember as Unit 21 residents gathered to celebrate the holidays in SaddleBrooke’s Vistas Ballroom. The ladies got a chance to show off their finery and the gents dusted off their dress clothes for the occasion as well. Needless to say, the ladies outshone the guys by a good bit!
Judy Saks, our event hostess and planner extraordinaire, said the turnout for the annual event was one of the best she can remember. “One hundred guests attended this year’s event,” said Judy. “I would like to thank my assistants, Sherry England, Pat Huska, Lissa White and Connie Wortman, for all of their hard work in helping bring everything together,” Judy added. “Everyone seemed to be having a great time.”
Any gala event such as this requires great food and Head Chef Dave once again didn’t disappoint. Attendees had a choice of slow-roasted beef strip loin topped with shaved prosciutto and mushroom duxelles. For the seafood lovers, Chef Dave served up crab-stuffed sole with a wonderful lemon dill beurre blanc sauce. Of course, both entrees were presented with the usual delicious accompaniments, including a scrumptious chocolate lava cake, raspberry sauce and ice cream for dessert.
The evening concluded with dancing to music supplied by DJ’s Gus “D” Oldie and Ms. Gina. This provided an excellent opportunity to work off some of the calories contained in the outstanding dinner. It was pretty much unanimous; a wonderful evening with talk about the difficult task of trying to top this in 2018. Happy holidays to all!
Unit 27 activities
Sue Case
The ladies of Unit 27 gathered at Vivace Restaurant on Thursday, December 7 for what has become a lovely tradition arranged by Vicki Strief, this year with the help of Jeannie Hepner, Jan Talbot and Jane Zielske. A record number of people attended, but alas our fearless leader was down and out with a seasonal virus and couldn’t join the group; however, her thoughtfulness and artistic touches were evident. In an annual tradition, Vicki and Unit 27 resident Don Stoebner funded Tequila Sunrises for all who cared to partake, paying tribute to Don’s late wife, June. June used to help Vicki with the holiday lunch and always drank a Tequila Sunrise. As always, the Vivace food was very tasty and the staff was friendly and very attentive. Each attendee received an ornament at the table and a beautifully wrapped cookie on the way out, both items given to the diners as a gift from Vicki.
The annual Holiday Party, co-sponsored by Units 27, 32 and 36, was held on Friday, December 8 at the MountainView Ballroom. Attendance was somewhat lighter than the previous year, but those who attended enjoyed themselves. With Steve and Rita Holder having moved, SaddleBrooke resident dancer and DJ Bob Osborne, agreed to “spin the records.” One highlight of the evening was the Unit 27 women singing Happy Birthday to Rich LaRosa who loved every minute of it!
The Unit 27 December Bocce Ball games were held on Tuesday, December 19. Coordinator Fira Stout reports that seven enthusiastic residents enjoyed two games on two courts before the sun, and the temperature, went down. They are a hearty group!
Official announcement has been made that Unit 27 will once again have a Block Party in 2018, thanks to the efforts of the Doyles, the Depkas and the Smiths. It will take place from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on April 21, 2018. So unit residents and alums, please save the date.
Unit 42, 43, 45 luncheon
Sidonia St.Germaine
All were in the holiday spirit on Saturday, December 16 when a gathering of 50 women met for the annual Christmas luncheon at Vivaci’s Restaurant. The room was filled to capacity with a nearly equal number of familiar faces as well as many new ones. The tables were attractively decorated by our hostesses Donna Infald and Judy Rogoway who have been arranging the monthly luncheons for the three units for several years. Many thanks to you, Donna and Judy, please keep up the great job.
Unit 45 festive outing
Pamela Eckardt
December 10 a group from Unit 45 – our official name: Southern Arizona Kazoophony Society, Local 45 (aka SAKS) went through the neighborhood playing Christmas carols on our kazoos – our director Alan Bomwell and wife Kathy were the organizers. The evening began with a rehearsal at the Bomwell house and ended with dinner at The Preserve. A good time was had by all. This was our first annual performance! See you next year!
Unit 48 Adopt-A-Child 2017
JoAnn Weston
Since 2009, Unit 48 has taken to its heart the children on Indian Reservations in San Carlos and San Manuel by “adopting” them for the holidays. Organized by SaddleBrooke Community Outreach and Tribal Social Services, each child is able to make a wish list of wanted toys and clothes which are purchased, wrapped and delivered by Santa’s Helpers.
This year was a record year for Unit 48. Residents contributed $5059, both in direct donations and through their annual Silent Auction. As a result, the Unit was able to help 60 children, providing $40 worth of warm winter clothing, chosen specifically for each child, $30 worth of toys and games requested by the child and $5 for stocking stuffers. Twenty-six residents shopped for the children, noting individual requests. What a pile of presents! To wrap the nearly 500 gifts, about 25 wrappers got together at MountainView Clubhouse to help Santa make the holidays happy for our neighbors to the north.
Four large SUVs transported the wrapped presents, sorted by name, to the home of Ken and Ellen Perkins, SaddleBrooke coordinators for the project, who, like Santa, delivered them to good little boys and girls who might not otherwise have gifts to open on Christmas.
Unit 49 Gift Wrap Party
Lan Bedard
Unit 49 residents have generously donated $6,815 for the 2017 Adopt-A-Family program. This is our eighth year participating in this program. With the money collected we are able to adopt 22 families. Our 19 shopping teams have been busy buying gifts based on the wish lists of the families’ members.
On Monday, December 11 over 40 volunteers from Unit 49 gathered at the MountainView Ballroom to wrap all the purchased gifts for 110 members of the adopted families.
Our talented wrappers have transformed the piles of packages into beautifully wrapped gifts, adorned with attractive colorful bows and ribbons and properly labeled with the names of each recipient. It is heartwarming to know that 100% of our donations will go directly to our adopted families and the gifts will bring them some hope and joy during this holiday season.
Our special thanks go to the Adopt-A-Family Committee for organizing leading Unit 49 efforts in collecting donations: Jeannine Grippo, Tom Oetinger, Maureen Edelblut, Shawne Cryderman, Karen Stevenson, Marge Wong and Ken Wong.
Our deepest gratitude goes to all Unit 49 volunteers who have spent countless hours buying gifts, wrapping them and delivering them to the adopted families.