The April Lunch with the Troops event was a huge success with over 60 people attending at the Porterhouse Steakhouse. Rock 'n' Roll Legend and hunting enthusiast Ted Nugent called during the lunch to talk with the troops and lead the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.

A Buck Knife and a Wenger Swiss Army Knife were offered at a silent auction. Rita Mayrant was the high bidder on the Wenger and Jerry Lester and I fought over the Buck, with Jerry eventually winning it.

Knife sponsors for April were Larry Godden, general manager of Million Air, Randy McPhetridge, manager of Les Schwab and the Columbia Basin Herald. The knife sponsors split the $33 cost of the knife and the Wenger Company sponsored their knife, so all of the money raised will go to Operation Warm Heart.

This month we are going to offer the same model of both knives as raffle items. I am looking for sponsors for the knives for this month, either three $11 sponsors or one $33 sponsor for each knife.

We also passed the fish bowl and total raised was...Well...I don't remember, just over or under $300 I think. My plan was to buy the troop's lunch from the money in the fish bowl, but as soon as I mentioned buying their lunch, all of the lunches were purchased.

Before the lunch, one person told me he wanted to buy five of the lunches. I'm not sure if he succeeded, as so many people wanted to buy the lunches.

What fun it was. As my cousin, Cheryl Driggs Elkins, relayed to me in an e-mail:

"I was so pumped when I got back to work, I've been telling several people about the wonderful luncheon I attended today, and it was. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the two airmen at my table. Peggy had tons of questions for them, which was great, because I think they enjoyed it and I was interested in their answers.

"But oh my gosh, it was so much better than I thought it was going to be, probably because I had no idea what to expect and there were way more people there than I thought there would be. The airmen indicated they didn't know what to expect either and were so happy they came. Good job cuz! I'm proud of you and thank you for letting myself and others to be a part of such an event. I'm going to be anxious for the next luncheon."

Well, thank you, Cheryl. And you, the readers, can also be a part of the next luncheon. Due to a scheduling conflict, the Lunch with the Troops will be held on May 24 this month beginning at noon sharp.

A buffet will be offered for $10, which will include the tip and non-alcoholic beverage, making the salad, sandwich and soup assortment, well within the price range for a typical lunch.

People wanting to attend the May 24 luncheon are asked to call me at: Home: 762-5158 or Cell: 750-0541. Or the Porterhouse Steakhouse at: 766-0308. We won't turn anyone away, but we need to have an approximate head count. To tell the truth, I'm anxious to see Porterhouse managers, Sam and Cale, scrambling to accommodate 200 plus attendees.

Cheryl continues:

"I was very tempted to sign up to go to Fairchild, simply because it would be an honor to do so, but I don't know if I can get away.

The administrative secretary said her husband should have gone to the lunch because he would likely have signed up to go as it's something he would really have enjoyed. I told her I would check with you to see if you filled up and if not, she could ask her husband.

"I did tell her though that I had a feeling you were already full. And I also told her didn't know when or any other details. I know you aren't going to have any trouble filling up for that, but just in case you were going to open it up to the general public, I thought I'd ask for him, and, of course, don't even know for sure if he would want to."

Cheryl is talking about an invitation from Community Relations Specialist Shawn Mayo who has offered up to 20 people a tour of Fairchild Air Force Base. If more than 20 people want to make the trip, we will organize two or three trips. We will discuss the tour in greater detail at the lunch on May 24.

Cheryl, pass along the info about the lunch to the administrative secretary's husband. Sure would like to see him there, with his wife and you.