Banquet promises cut-loose party for Chapter members

Pull out your environmentally friendly décolletage, your super-macho tight jeans, and a throw-caution-to-the-wind attitude and come party with the Sierra Club at the annual Chapter Awards Banquet.

Laugh, schmooze, and say 'well done' to a bunch of folks who've gone above and beyond. This year's May 1 event promises to be spectacular.

Special guest Garrett Burke, the artist who designed the John Muir Yosemite quarter, will give an illustrated talk on the events that led up to the design.

Chapter chair and MC for the evening Virgil Shields will present a brief slide show commemorating members who have passed on in the last five years.

For the crafty among us, a contest will be held for Best Theme-Decorated Table. Last year, the Endangered Species/Wildlife Task Force table looked as if its members had raided the rainforests for cute, cuddly (and possibly extinct) stuffed animals (the cloth kind). What will the Mule Pack Section come up with? 20s and 30s Singles? The possibilities boggle the mind.

The Wild Adventures, Wild Nature Silent Auction will take place throughout the evening, with valuable items up for bidding donated by Paramount Studios, the Huntington Library, a well-known art gallery, and a famous painter.

The evening will unfold at the elegant Brookside Country Club, next to Pasadena's Rose Bowl. The wine and appetizer reception, hosted by Orange County Sierra Singles, begins at 5pm. Dinner will start at 6pm.

For a list of the awardees, see the March Southern Sierran or go to the Chapter website at http://angeles.sierraclub.org/About/Awardees2005.asp.

Tickets ($30, $300 for a table) may be ordered from Cathy Kissinger, 10541 Oro Vista Ave., Sunland 91040-2853. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Rosemarie White (auction, 818-769-1521), Elizabeth Pomeroy (logistics) and Donna Specht (OCSS reception) with Lori Ives (chair, 909-621-7148), round out the 2005 Banquet Committee.