December 10, 2013

By:  Karen Hefter
Photos by:  Karen Hefter, Linda Myers, Bill Sullivan
Video by:  Karen Hefter

On a cold winter evening, the members of the East Bay Banjo Club were joined by family and friends for a holiday party at Luigi’s Deli in Martinez.  Many members were dressed in extremely festive holiday attire, which can be seen in the photos from this event.  After some social time, everyone thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful meal made by Luigi and his family.  He served salad, mixed vegetables, potatoes, chicken, and bread.  The food was fabulous, fresh, and very tasty.  For dessert, there were chocolate and vanilla cakes decorated to commemorate the EBBC’s 50th anniversary.

The annual meeting was held and the new board was voted in.  Our new board will consist of:  President –  Larry Risner, Vice President – Bob Malucelli, Secretary – Ardie Jarrett, Treasurer – Linda Myers, and Music Director – Betty David. A big thanks goes to our outgoing board, who succeeded in keeping the club together after the death of our longtime Music Director, Bill Cooper and in pulling us out of our financial situation and putting us back on a good footing.  Our outgoing board is:  President – Sheila Welt, Vice President – Bob Malucelli, Secretary – Ardie Jarrett, Treasurer – Bob Nelson, and Music Director – Betty David. A special thanks goes to our Booking Agent, Phil Myers, who booked an extraordinary number of gigs for us this year, so that we could correct our financial situation.

After the meeting, our Music Director, Betty David, was presented with a gift and a raffle was held.  Raffle winners won either hand towels embroidered with the EBBC or banjo straps. Next, everyone got out their banjos and we played “Black and Blue” and “Just A Closer Walk With Thee” to honor our late Music Director, Bill Cooper.  We concluded with holiday favorites like “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and “Silent Night.”

Just A Closer Walk With Thee from East Bay Banjo Club on Vimeo.