As many of you may have heard, Jerry Parker, the gentleman from Rochester that has been helping gather sign donations, underwent 8 hours of surgery yesterday at Mayo for cancer. He's now recovering and hopefully will be out of the hospital within a week so hopefully he'll be at the tournament that he helped create.
Because of Jerry's absence, I'm reaching out to you players and members of the pool community to assist us in gathering sign donations and items for the silent auctions. Anything and everything helps. We have many items that have already been donated for the silent auction, but we need many more items to help reach our goal. If you own a business or know someone who is in a business that could afford to donate something, please ask them for me and get what you can. Also, I know that times are tough for many people and businesses so please understand if others are reluctant to donate. We don't want to cause a hardship for anyone.
As for the pool tournament itself, my phone has been ringing constantly and we will have hundreds of players for the tournament. That's not an issue. If you haven't gotten signed up yet or mailed in your entry, you can always sign up at the tournament on Friday night if space is still available. However, once the fields are full, the tournament sign-up window will close.
You're all aware of the current depressing situation of our economy and of the pool business. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Let's take this weekend to drink and play pool and have a great time raising money for a worthy cause. We won't break any records this year for money raised, but we'll have a great time with our pool-playing friends all weekend long. I look forward to that and hope you're all coming down to play and/or visit.
Anyone wishing to donate items for the silent auction can send them (if mailable) to me at the following address: John Stich, 13514 Aldrich Ave S, Burnsville, MN 55337. As long as I receive it by Wednesday (a week from today) I'll bring it with to the tournament. People or businesses willing to buy signs should mail their checks to my address. And call or e-mail me first so I can get the sign ordered.
Thanks to everyone who is taking part in making this event a huge success. If you have questions, please feel free to call me at 507-210-7558. Take Care. John Stich