And the Winning Number...

...was Phil's, several times, during the raffle at the Northwest Corner Woodworkers Association (NCWA) holiday party tonight! (Click the link to read his firsthand report.)

Among his bounty was a $300 gift card and a $50 gift card to Lee Valley, one of his favorite woodworkers' catalogs, as well as two fine hardwood slabs.

The club members are some of the nicest people I've ever met, and generous, as well -- nearly $1,300 was raised in the raffle and the "pass the hat" earlier in the evening, all going to the local Toys for Tots program. Many of the NCWA members also made delightful wooden toys for the  program. (The nationwide U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program collects new toys from October through December each year, and distributes them in their local communities across the country to children who might not otherwise receive a Christmas present.) 

Throughout the event, the mood was amiable, humorous, and inclusive. When the evening was over, everyone helped clean up and put away the tables and chairs. I couldn't help thinking that this was the America I knew and loved -- one in which men and women of all ages could put aside their political and religious differences and relish time together to learn and practice a useful, often artistic craft, and always welcome and encourage newcomers in their midst.

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