CAREGIVER CONFERENCE AND VOICES FOR CHANGE GALA

[flakenforaikeninFL]

I got her and we went outside to talk to Diane -- Susan told her basically we needed to know how, when and where. Diane would let us know.

Finally when we broke for lunch, Marilyn, Bozena, and Evelyn arrived. Lucky girls they slept and we saved them seats.

BTW, they gave us so many free cute things and Caregiver Magazines and Brochures and bags. If we had more time there were other things as well-contest to enter etc.

We ate lunch and then they had a Q&A time --I think they were killing time b/c Clay was late -- too much tree planting I suspect.

He finally came out -- I won't go into the Clay details b/c you have all read them already but he was awesome. He was articulate, nice, snarky, HE WAS JUST CLAY, the man we love.

He did not speak that long and then we left-

Diane did come in to seek me out -- I told her Susan was really in charge and I was the Charity Chairperson and that susan would actually do the presentation b/c she had a speech prepared.(I made a big check for presentation which I know someone will post soon) I would hand her the check. She told us to meet her at 7:45 at the silent auction and we would do our thing. How excited were we?

to be continued

[flakenforaikeninFL]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
We all then went back to my house. ( Oh and Susan told Diane about Evelyn being the cookie lady ).

We watched some of my original VCR tapes. I have been telling people I think I have everything imaginable and I think now they believe me.

Anyway, Evelyn is so cute. She cut and styled my hair for me and put on my make-up. We all had plenty of room to get ready. I am such an empty nester - I have plenty of room and no one in the house except my wonderful helpful hubby.

Susan made a wonderful book for presentation to Clay and Diane and I added a page for fundraising. We got everything together and went back to Ft. Lauderdale.

They once again gave us many nice things. We had no time for the Silent Auction which I could see was wonderful b/c we were looking for Diane.

we finally found her but there was no time for a speech so we just took pictures of us presenting her the "Big check" that I made. But it was still awesome. Diane remembered Evelyn as the Cookie lady

We went inside. We were 2-3 tables from Clay - that is Bozena, Evelyn, Susan and I -- it was still too far to be intimate and Jerome was literally hovering over him. But I could see his long fingers talking and eating and he was gabbing and gabbing to the people around him.

to be continued

[flakenforaikeninFL]

Again I won't go into the Clay details b/c everyone has posted this already except to say that he was always present. He helped give out awards, took pics on stage, spoke, sang -- the whole nine yards. And boy he was really Mr. skinny legs. He looked very thin especially in the legs.

Philly got a cellcert from us.

It was great to meet Joyce there and her mom after all this time.

At the end, Diane, Nick, and Quiana were accessable but I already have Nick's autograph from Atlanta and Quiana'a. May be I should have talked to them again but it was time to depart.

Bozena is my travelling savior --she drove my van back to my house - I hate driving in the dark.

The three of them departed. We had a wonderful time --Susan went home and Dale and Dee stayed and we watched more DVD's. I was so happy they could stay with me. It made the weekend special. I love them. They are such nice women.

Let me know if you have any questions. i have tried to relay most of my highlights

[Bocaqueen]

HI Everyone,

Forgive me for delaying this post all day...Mama has had all of 5 hours sleep in 3 days and my brother and nephew are in from NY...so another day in the life of Mama Boca.

Well, I see Marilyn has posted a lot of the details so I will just give you my personal twist of our experience.

After having 1 hour of sleep, I headed out to Flakeys at 6AM.  An hour later I was with Flakey, Kendall and ClaymateFl whom I had previsously had the pleasure of meeting in Melbourne.

After a quicky bagel, which Mr. Flakey served AND cleaned up...what a guy......we were off on our adventure.

We were lucky to be towards the front on the line so when the doors opened for the Caregivers Conference....we ran to get the closest table left.  We were only 3 tables away, maybe 30 feet from our beloved Clay.

Mr Elegance AND Eloquence did not disappoint except in the briefness of his speech, for even 24 hours of him speaking wouldn't be enough.  As Pamela stated for me, he could have been the CEO of a major corportion or any Public Official, for he was dressed to kill and always speaks with such emotion, charm and of course intelligence.  And somewhere in his fervor, he finds a place to inject humor.

Let's back up a bit......

Before Clay came out, Flakey wanted a break for the little girls facilities...I was going to join her, but Dale(ClaymateFl) needed to visit as well and I decided to wait with Dee(Kendall)  Well, after waiting and waiting, we thought that the toilet surely must have swallowed our friend's.  Now Dee leaves to go find them while Mama stood guard at our table.  Nobody returns again!!!! Now EVERYONE is MIA!!!!!!!

Finally, they all come rushing in with smiles a mile long, breaking the news that they have just come from a wonderful chat with Diane Bubel and Flakey had briefed her on our Social and that "WE HAD ALREADY RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM FRAN SKINNER TO MAKE A PRESENTATION OF OUR DONATION SOMETIME DURING THE EVENING".

CONT'D.....

[Bocaqueen]

I HAD KNOWN FOR DAYS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE PRESENTATION AND I DIDN'T WANT TO TELL ALL OF YOU AS TO NOT HAVE EVERYONE DISAPPOINTED IF IT DIDN'T COME TO PASS!

Therefore, I was again writing speeches and letters.  That's why you haven't seen much of me around since the Social.  I wrote 1 speech for Diane, 1 in case I had the miracle of presenting to Clay, and a letter if nothing came to fruition to include in the gifts I had prepared ( I will have pictures of all these things)

TBcont'd

[Bocaqueen]

Diane requested to meet me....AH....what great news!  Flakey led the way and I saw Diane and overheard her conversation...which is something I think I SHOULD SHARE........she was talking to a few other ladies, and she says:  I don't visit the message boards.  You must remember, Clay is like a brother, a son, and it is embarrassing to read all those things the women write.!!!!!  Lesson to be learned folks???????

That is not a direct quote as I would not feel that would be proper to do, but that was pretty close!

She then, graciously spent some time with me/us.  She is so warm and genuine, you just want to have her come over for a cup of tea and chat awhile!

I must get off ....I will continue this tomorrow.
Goodnight and pleasant dreams to all!

Prayers for our JJ

[Marilyn]

Marilyn, it all sounds wonderful, and like you had so much fun!  I'm very glad you got to get into the conference.  That would have been unfortunate if you didn't!  Karma...it's a good thing.

Thank you very much for sharing your weekend with us!  Looking forward to more!  

pssst....did you get any pictures with your new camera?

I DID!! WITH NO FLASH!! NOT TOO MANY OF CLAY, BUT A FEW OF THE GIRLS- I WILL SHARE WHEN I GET HOME!

[fantasys about clay]

Wow~ i just finished reading all the pages! Loved the pictures and saved all of them! Glad those of u that went had fun! And thank u everyone 4 sharing! I'll try to come back later and write more but my hand hurts.

Talk to ya'll later

love ya

Andrea-

[Pamela]

. . .except to say that he was always present.

Flakey, that's about the best way to put it I can think of.  He is always present, even when he sometimes doesn't know what town he's in.  You know that saying "live in the moment?"  It may sound cheesy, but it is worth doing.  And it's difficult to do. . .how many times have you left a concert and couldn't remember details?  Or is that just me?  

Thanks so much for sharing your weekend with us, it sounds like one to remember. Oh, and I would love to see that big check!

You must remember, Clay is like a brother, a son, and it is embarrassing to read all those things the women write.!!!!!  Lesson to be learned folks???????

Well, I don't think of him as a brother or a son, so that lesson is lost on me.

She then, graciously spent some time with me/us.  She is so warm and genuine, you just want to have her come over for a cup of tea and chat awhile!

I have never heard anything but nice things said about Diane Bubel.  Even with all she has on her plate, she is interested and aware and proactive.  She must be an outstanding human being.  And, she got Clay to audition for AI, so that's reason enough to love her right there.  

Here's a LINK to pictures from the conference taken by Invisible926 at the Clackhouse.  They are really good!