Goodbye in Her Eyes

No, we didn’t say goodbye to anyone. We worked the Zac Brown Band concert last night at the Peoria Civic Center! Man what a night.  The crew manned two concession stands and worked our fannies off. The afternoon started at 3:30 and we walked out the door at 11:30!

Between the two stands we made quite a haul.  We work hard but in the end the work pays off.  All those nachos and wrapping of hotdogs, the burnt fingers from cheese that’s too hot, comes in handy when you want to go on a high adventure. Sure you might dream of pretzels and cheese and a marching line of nacho trays for the next two nights but the tradeoff is beyond rewarding.

For a few of us slopping nachos and carting cases of water means we get to attend the 2013 National Scouting Jamboree! A handful of others will be able spend a week in Canada fishing to their hearts’ desires because of all those hotdogs.   Or hauling all those ice buckets and getting covered in relish and sauerkraut means a venturing family whitewater rafting trip in Tennessee.

No matter the event or how long the hours, we know we’ll always have a fantastic time running the registers at the Peoria Civic Center! The rewards are twofold: an incredible time together for a few hours a month and the opportunities to experience the great outdoors later.

Even Nachos Have Christmas Spirit!

So last night we worked our final Bradley Braves game before Christmas.  And man what a night.  The night started off with some Jackson 5 singing some Christmas carols and the boys not singing so beautifully.  Though our merry band was only five strong we rocked Stand #9!  Never before were the nachos stuffed so quickly while brats and hot dogs lined the grills.

 

Our man Tyler brought along Christmas hats for all of us to wear and the Christmas cheer filled the stand.  We got a few strange looks and we might have even landed a few extra tips for our Christmas spirit.  Even our lovely CenterPlate manager, Edna, got in on the Christmas excitement. 🙂

Though we may not sing beautifully and people thought us funny for sporting Christmas attire ~ that’s what makes us Crew 91.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a more fun-loving, easy going, quick-to-laugh group of Central Illinois guys and gals.  What a great way to spend a Wednesday night!

Rockin’ it Relay Style

There is just something absolutely fabulous about spending an evening dripping sweat with your Relay team and cancer survivors.  The heat was intense and the humdity was high enough you could wring out the air!  That didn’t really stop us from having a great time.

We don’t really need an excuse to stay up all night and be completely worthless the next day but on Saturday, June 30 there was a reason.  Crew members took up the mantle of an all-nighter in support of Relay for Life.  This was the first year the crew had a team, Life Crew 91.  We had quite the showing and surpassed our fund raising goal of $1,000.

To show our spirit we wore our tie-dyed camo Relay shirts and made sure they glowed in the dark.  We set-up camp and got ready for the next 16 hours of laps, sodas and serving at the concessions.

We took shifts dishing ice cream, wrapping brats and porkers, and serving enough taco-in-a-bowls to feed an army!  The ice cream sundeas were a perfect retreat from the heat. It was by far the most coveted of jobs…you got to open and close the freezer!!!  While some us worked in the Relay Cafe the rest of us walked, jogged and some of us RAN (he was slightly crazy!) around the track to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society.

The best part about the evening is always the lighting of the luminaries.  Just as the sun goes down the luminaries are light one by one as a reminder of those who have fought, are fighting and will fight cancer.  It is a somber ceremony and not a dry eye is left in the stadium.  It is a beautiful display of community support and Venture Crew 91 was proud to be a part of something so meaningful.