Thousands of miles. Hundreds of donations. One goal.

2006 “Monte Carlo” Night… It’s here and it’s THIS SATURDAY!  June 3^rd to be exact, and we’re hoping to make it an even bigger party than in 2004!  Check out the details here.

The Deal

A lot of people have asked us what happened to the casino.  The short story is this… During early planning of the stages, the hotel mentioned that regulations have changed since our last event and the City of Boston now requires a license for any gaming related event.  After many unsuccessful attempts to track down more information at City Hall, Matt discussed the available options with the hotel.  The hotel said they had a copy of the form on-hand, and would get it to us shortly.  After a couple weeks, and even more email reminders, the hotel finally said we were all set, and not to worry about it.  Time goes by.  At 4:00 pm, the evening before the event, Matt gets an email that there’s a problem and to call ASAP.  It turns out that a building inspector had been by for an unrelated cause and learned of the – apparently unlicensed – “casino night”.  So, at the risk of loosing their liquor license, the hotel would not let us hold our casino night with a casino.

The Result

While we’re still waiting to see what sort of post-event damage control the hotel is willing to do, the number of people in attendance was an obvious hit.  In 2004 we had 125 guests.  With more networking, advertising, sponsors, friends, and family involved, we expected this to grow to 150-175 people for 2006.  The result turned out to be 45 people.  While everyone still had an absolute blast (with some thanks to an anonymous wedding party), this was an obvious disappointment from a fundraising perspective.  I’ll be sure to keep people posted on our progress, but in the meantime, please continue to help us out by donating online and spreading the word of our efforts (click on “Sponsor Us” at left for links).

Our Rebuttal

We’re brainstorming.  We want revenge in the form of an awesome party and hugely successful fundraiser.  You give us an idea, we’ve got the determination.

Wicked,

Matt

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Important News as of Friday, June 2nd!

The Bad News:

Due to an “oversight” on a vendor’s behalf, we will not be able to have a casino at Casino Night.  Also, we cannot consider it a fundraiser – for this please direct your applause to Boston City Hall.  This is a “private party” held by WickedPhilanthropy.com.

The Good News:

We’ve decreased the price of tickets accordingly – $40 for open bar and $25 for 2-drinks.  We also still have a couple thousand dollars in prizes that need to be distributed, so we’ll be tossing those out to people.  We have unlimited alcohol we need to work on, and we will have a computer setup to accept online tax-deductible donations directly to the Prouty if you’re still feeling so generous.

The Ugly:

…Jeff in a wedding dress.  150+ people partying in a hotel with a DJ and an open bar?  Sounds like a wedding, doesn’t it?  But with all the prizes this might be the first “wedding” you go home from with something that didn’t require you to call them in the morning.

The party starts at 8pm and goes until the place is dry.  Time to be Wicked.

Cheers,

Mr. Matt & Mrs. Jeff

WickedPhilanthropy.com

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What: 2006 Casino Night Fundraiser, Part 2

Where: The Doubletree Guest Suites, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA. 02134-1893, (617) 783-0090

When: June 3, 2006 (8:00pm)

How: The entry price includes drinks, music, dancing, light food, and gambling!  You’ll start with some ‘play money’ for gambling and your winnings may be applied towards raffles for terrific items generously donated by our sponsors!

• Dress - Please dress nicely, (a minimum of “business casual”).
• Pricing (two options this year!) – Open bar: $40.00,  2-drinks: $25.00
• Food: Light appetizer-type food.

Why: To raise money for The National MS Society, and The Norris Cotton Cancer Center (via The Prouty).

Some of our current product sponsors include:

• Cannondale (www.Cannondale.com)
• Oakley
• Tiffany’s
• Ben & Jerry’s
• Monheagan Sun
• Museum of Fine Art (MFA)
• Green Mountain Coffee
• Fitness Together, Back Bay (www.FTBackBay.com)
• Community Mowing, Co. (www.CommunityMowing.com)
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Water Wizz Park
• Museum of Science
• EcoTarium
• Davis Farmland
• New England Zoo
• JFK Presidential Library & Museum
• …and more!

And a HUGE thanks to our vendor sponsors, who  include:

• The Doubletree Hotel (www.Doubletree.com)
• Sound & Vision DJ Productions (www.SVDJ.com)
• Las Vegas Entertainment of Boston (www.LasVegasBoston.com)
• Crosby’s Markets (www.CrosbysMarkets.com)
• Pedro’s USA (www.Pedros.com)

At left: Matt, Adrian, and Mike upon completing the 100-mile Prouty. Sunny skies were a nice change after 75+ miles of rain The 2004 Prouty

Adrian Ionescu, Mike Morris, and I (Matt) rode in the Prouty, a single day event covering 100 miles. As you can see by the pictures below, it was raining. A lot.

We got a late start on the day since we decided to commute up from Boston to New Hampshire the morning of the event. We still had a blast on our own, and by the end of the day were lucky enough to get some beautiful weather!

To everyone that helped us accomplish my goal, thank you for supporting us. And until next year – ride on,

Matt

Pictures from the day:

Above: A rainy start.

Above: Enjoying the weather.

Above: Soaked.

Above: Finally, a break in the weather! (Around mile 90)

Above: Over excited about the weather.

Above: Enjoying the sunshine.

Above: The last few miles.

Above: Another successful ride finished!

As you well know, this year I decided to do the Pan-Mass Challenge, a 200-mile bike ride from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown, MA on August 7th and 8th to raise money on behalf of the Jimmy Fund and cancer research. I have always heard a lot about it, have loved cycling, and have wanted to ride the PMC – 2004 just happened to be the first year I have been afforded the time and resources to pursue it.

Saturday, August 7th – My alarm went off at 3:30am and I was ready to go. I brought my bike and gear outside to a surprising 50° morning. Spandex and shaved legs don’t lend themselves well to dark 50 degree weather, but not much we could do about it now. We arrived at the start in Sturbridge to an amazing number of people. It was announced that a record 1,750 people would be departing in the dark that cold morning. We slowly signed in, dropped off our bags, and stood in the cold beside our bikes. We instantly recognized the fact that we were – by far – the babies of the bunch. We had been told that the average age of the riders was 45, but I guess I expected a lot more riders in the 85-95 age range to bring the average as high as it was. I was wrong. By the 110 mile finish, our top speed of the day had been about 52-53 mph and my heart rate reached a max of 195 beats per minute during the climb up the ensuing hill.

Sunday, August 8th – Sunday’s ride was a bit more casual but the wind soon proved to be another challenge. The sea breeze defeated any increase of temperatures over the previous morning, the only plus being that we instantly began to climb for a couple miles up and over the Bourne Bridge. I’m not sure where we went from there, but the next 30 miles were over some beautiful roads of rolling hills. We expected Saturday to be the “hillier” of the two days and were already changing that idea fast. When we reached the last 10 miles, our pace picked up a bit and we finally came into sight of the finish – tons of spectators were cheering us on and it was a party in progress despite the fact that it was only about 11am. We quickly got rid of our bikes, changed out of our clothes, and started browsing the food tents. All the food we could eat, free beer from Harpoon, and a nice ocean breeze made a satisfying finish. The ferry to Boston didn’t depart until 3pm, so we spent the next four hours eating, napping, drinking, and more eating and napping.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the organization of the PMC. Of course, I am always pleased when I don’t have to make my own food. However, everything was handled perfectly – transportation of our bags, digital wristbands, repair stations and wagons, intersections with police stopping traffic for us – all very impressive.

A few people have asked me, “what happens if you finish it first?” Well, nothing aside from the fact that you missed the entire point of the PMC. The ride was a blast, but the sense of camaraderie based on the significance of the ride was what will stand out in my memory over time. Riders were always courteous to others, talking and joking about the hill, wind, or just strange spectators (Jeff- the crazy lady yelling gibberish in central Ma?!). All around you there were people to ride with and virtually everyone worked together to create pace-lines and work in a group.

It took a while for me to realize, but there is a single aspect that will stand out in my head as inspirational. At first it sounded a bit foreign, as I was doing what I enjoy – cycling. But the more I heard it, the more I contemplated the larger effects of my ride. The one thing that impresses me the most is the sole number of spectators and people who simply said, “Thank you for riding.”

To everyone that helped me accomplish my goal, thank you for supporting me. And until next year – ride on,

Matt

Hosted by Jeff Adams, Matt Solar, and Sara Sigman

Without a doubt, our first Casino Night was a huge success. A huge thanks to Smartbargains.com, Long Trail, Green Mountain Coffee, and our other sponsors for donating great prizes for everyone to win!

Quick stats:

• 120+ people attended
• Over $2,000 raised for the Jimmy Fund
• Nine corporate sponsors