After Action Report on 2011 LARG Holiday Dinner
Leesburg, Virginia
January 1, 2012
SUBJECT: After Action Report on 2011 LARG Holiday Dinner
- Again this year the LARG Holiday Dinner was a potluck dinner held at the Hamilton Safety Center, also known as Harmony Hall, at 39071 East Colonial Highway in Hamilton on Saturday, December 10, 2011 from 6:30-9:30 P.M. Everybody brought food to feed 10-12 people. People brought a main dish, a side dish or salad, or a dessert according to the first initial of their last name: A-H, main dish, I-R, side dish or salad, S-Z, a dessert. It was BYOB. Harmony Hall has a liquor license. The cost was $15 a person.
- A reservation for Harmony Hall was made by John Unger.
- The club supplied coffee, ice tea, eating utensils, napkins, paper products, tablecloths, paper name tags, centerpieces and door prizes. This year there were a few door prizes for the YL's.
- John Unger opened the doors at 5:15 P.M. and a half dozen people came at around 5:30 P.M. to help with the set up of chairs and tables, (10 small round tables to seat 6-8 people) and 5 oblong tables for dessert, door prizes and drinks). We finished setting up by 6:00, so the party could have started then.
- People paid $15 at the door or mailed me the $15 and received one door prize ticket for this entrance fee. Each YL also got one door prize ticket for paying the entrance fee.
- This year we had an optional 50/50 drawing. The club netted about $87.
- Reminders about the party were sent out on the LARG reflector and people were asked to wear their LARG name tags.
- The Dominion 4, the barbershop quartet, provided holiday music at the start of the evening.
- About 48 people came.
- All helped with clean-up.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Choose a chairman for the party EARLY, (August is good!) and decide on a date and place for the party. I investigated The VFW but it cost the same as Harmony Hall and they initially were slow to respond.
- Send out "Save the Date" notices as soon as the date is chosen.
- Send out follow-up notices on the LARG reflector periodically.
- Buy 10 round plastic tablecloths, 6 oblong plastic tablecloths, large dinner napkins,( a dozen or so are left), one pound of decaf coffee, and sugar, ( I forgot to bring it, but there was artificial sweetener available and there is plenty left), plastic knives, (there are plenty of forks and spoons left over), dinner plates, (about 2 dozen are left), dessert plates, (about 2 dozen are left over), cold drink cups, (about 12 left over), 10 small poinsettias for the tables, paper name tags, little paper dots to put under one chair at each table for the lucky winner to get the poinsettia on the table. There is plenty of Coffee mate left over so no need to buy cream.
- Have a club member buy the door prizes. The club provides $500 for this. I bought the door prizes for the women and spent $35.
- Make 25 cups of coffee. We drank about all of it.
- Buy 2 or 3 gallons of water. I think it might have been nice to have some water.
- Buy 2 gallons of ice tea. I bought 3 gallons and we used 2 of them.
- There is plenty of ice available at Harmony Hall.
- Things that might be helpful to have on hand from home: magic marker, tape, scissors, extra serving pieces, an extension cord, plastic bowls to put tickets in, something to put plastic utensils in, a bowl and a scoop for ice.
- Quiet background music would have been nice.
Respectfully Submitted: Nancy Dluehosh - N1NCY
2011 LARG Holiday Dinner Committee, Chairman
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