Slamr
08-23-2002, 04:36 PM
First of all, a HUGE thanks to all of those who attended the Live Auction for Ashton on Tuesday the 20th on MuskieFirst.com in the chat room....some great deals were had on some great stuff, and as always, those in attendance showed an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and generosity in their bidding! If you missed it this time, DON'T miss it the next, it's not only a great way to get some great deals and have a shot at some rare and hard to find items; it's also a fun time that is all done for a great charity. As much as we appreciate the out pouring of generosity that the buyers showed, of course a great round of applause goes out to the companies and individuals who donated for the auction. Over $3,000 has been raised thus far and we are far from done.....many times more WILL BE RAISED THROUGH THE SILENT AUCTION!!!!! Read below for more info on the silent auction!!!!
But first, just to reintroduce you to the WHY of the auction:
Ashton, my grandson, is a wonderful little 8-month old boy full of spirit, that always has a ready smile on his little face. That wasn't always possible for him, he was born with a very serious bi-lateral cleft palate and lip. He has no roof in the top of his mouth, you see straight into his nasal cavity. His top jaw is in three sections, with the front jaw (premaxilla) jutting out, at birth it was right under his little nose. His top lip was in three sections also and his nostrils were open right into his little mouth. With corrective surgery at three months of age, he now is able to smile. The surgeons fused his lip together, and used a flap of skin to seal his nostrils off from his mouth. While this sounds like a simple surgery, it was not, the doctors had to separate skin and muscle to sew them together as they should have been. His next surgery is October 3rd, 2002, just two days after his first birthday. At that time the surgeons will give him a soft palate. This consists of taking a flap of skin from the back of his throat and putting it into the roof area of his mouth.. Ashton was also blessed with eczema, allergies to everything but 100% cotton, and a long road ahead of him (at least 6 more surgeries are needed) before he will be like other little boys. With all this against him, he has a wonderful, loving family, grandparents that adore him and is the MuskieFirst.com "Special Little Boy." MuskieFirst and its members have raised money to help defray expenses, have sent special gifts, including a 100% cotton hand-made quilt, and keep us in their prayers. Without this continued support, life would have been a harder struggle for my family. The endless trips to the hospital in Madison, room and board while Ashton is in the hospital for his Mom and Dad, and all the special bottles and other odds and ends that he has needed through his life. The members of MuskieFirst restored our faith in humanity, most are complete strangers to our family, but they have put forth their very best to help when needed.
Sincerely,
Jody Holbrook
aka. MuskieGoddess
aka. Ashton's Grandma
To this point the efforts of the staffers and members of www.MuskieFirst.com have brought in over $11,000 for this so important of causes....now lets see if we can bring this total to over $20,000! How are we going to do this? The manner by which funds are going to be raised has switched over from a Live Chat-Site Auction to a Silent Auction which will be done through the website www.muskiefirst.com, where interested people can post their bids against the bids of others in time periods of 7, 10, and 14 days....
Now the items to be auctioned off....
For Guides dates, both half and full days: Brad Breuer (http://breuerguide.com) in Vilas, Oneida and Iron Counties in Wisconsin, Derek "Duck" Johnson (http://www.muskynut.com/ducks.htm) on Mille Lacs in MN, Neptune Charters (http://www.micharterboats.com/neptune) on Lake St. Clair, Tanner Wildes (http://www.tannerwildes.com) in Sawyer County Wisconsin - Specializing on Winter Lake, Mike's Extreme Guide Service (http://mikekoepp.com/) on Pewaukee Lake, Wisconsin, Bill and James Craig (http://www.travel-net.com/~mistermuskie/) on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Darrin Engstrom (www.muskyhunt.com) in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin area, Paul Klein in the Northern Wisconsin (Vilas/Oneida counties), Mark Hintz (http://www.muskyadventures.com) in Northeaster Wisconsin, Dave Dorazio (http://www.boottails.com/guide.htm) ib the Chippewa Flowage area, Don Pfeiffer in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Crash's Landing (http://www.crashslanding.com) on Cave Run Lake in Kentuky, Ralph Florio (http://www.muskyfever.com) in Northern Indiana and Illinois, Richard Collin (www.trophymuskiecharters.com) on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Sundance Guide Service (http://www.sundanceguideservice.com) on Lake of the Woods out of the Kenora, Ontario Canada area), Jim Murphy/aka. Murph! (http://www.fishingleechlake.com/guides/), Oneida Esox/John Stefflue in the Oneida County area of Northern Wisconsin, Mike Hoen (http://fishandgame.com/mgguide) in Northwest, Wisconsin, Captain Larry D. Jones (http://www.mostlymuskies.com) on Lake Erie and the Niagra River, 7Islands Guide Service in Presque Isle Wisconsin (http://www.fishinfo.com/go/sevenislands/).......
For Baits and Products we have items from....
Musky Innovations (www.muskyinnovations.com), River Run Tackle (www.riverruntackle.com), Frabill Nets (www.frabill.com), Schunke Hydraulic Fishing Lures (www.schunkelures.com), Hooker Tackle (www.hookertackle.com), MuskieBayTackle (www.muskiebaytackle.com), Tinsel Tails (www.tinseltails.com), Land O' Lakes Tackle Company (www.landolakestackle.com), Hellraiser Tackle (www.hellraisertackle.com), Western Filament (http://www.wfilament.com/), Innovative Sport Group (www.isgfishing.com), as well as a number other generous manufacturers donations and members!!!
We need support from everyone Muskie Fisherman and Woman alike throughout the Muskie Fishing world!!! Please when you can go to http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/boards/forum.asp?forumID=19&sessionID={1C4E4638-6977-44E0-940E-38AA0C1B5389} and see all that is offered....see what interests you, make a bid!!!! Here's a chance to fish with the best, purchase the best in products that the muskie industry has to offer, and its ALL FOR CHARITY!!! Thanks for your support, and please pass this on to everyone you know!!!!!
Andrew "Slamr" Golden
Sr. Technical Recruiter
(847)577-0300 (work)
(847)989-9271 (cell)
agolden@htassociates.com
But first, just to reintroduce you to the WHY of the auction:
Ashton, my grandson, is a wonderful little 8-month old boy full of spirit, that always has a ready smile on his little face. That wasn't always possible for him, he was born with a very serious bi-lateral cleft palate and lip. He has no roof in the top of his mouth, you see straight into his nasal cavity. His top jaw is in three sections, with the front jaw (premaxilla) jutting out, at birth it was right under his little nose. His top lip was in three sections also and his nostrils were open right into his little mouth. With corrective surgery at three months of age, he now is able to smile. The surgeons fused his lip together, and used a flap of skin to seal his nostrils off from his mouth. While this sounds like a simple surgery, it was not, the doctors had to separate skin and muscle to sew them together as they should have been. His next surgery is October 3rd, 2002, just two days after his first birthday. At that time the surgeons will give him a soft palate. This consists of taking a flap of skin from the back of his throat and putting it into the roof area of his mouth.. Ashton was also blessed with eczema, allergies to everything but 100% cotton, and a long road ahead of him (at least 6 more surgeries are needed) before he will be like other little boys. With all this against him, he has a wonderful, loving family, grandparents that adore him and is the MuskieFirst.com "Special Little Boy." MuskieFirst and its members have raised money to help defray expenses, have sent special gifts, including a 100% cotton hand-made quilt, and keep us in their prayers. Without this continued support, life would have been a harder struggle for my family. The endless trips to the hospital in Madison, room and board while Ashton is in the hospital for his Mom and Dad, and all the special bottles and other odds and ends that he has needed through his life. The members of MuskieFirst restored our faith in humanity, most are complete strangers to our family, but they have put forth their very best to help when needed.
Sincerely,
Jody Holbrook
aka. MuskieGoddess
aka. Ashton's Grandma
To this point the efforts of the staffers and members of www.MuskieFirst.com have brought in over $11,000 for this so important of causes....now lets see if we can bring this total to over $20,000! How are we going to do this? The manner by which funds are going to be raised has switched over from a Live Chat-Site Auction to a Silent Auction which will be done through the website www.muskiefirst.com, where interested people can post their bids against the bids of others in time periods of 7, 10, and 14 days....
Now the items to be auctioned off....
For Guides dates, both half and full days: Brad Breuer (http://breuerguide.com) in Vilas, Oneida and Iron Counties in Wisconsin, Derek "Duck" Johnson (http://www.muskynut.com/ducks.htm) on Mille Lacs in MN, Neptune Charters (http://www.micharterboats.com/neptune) on Lake St. Clair, Tanner Wildes (http://www.tannerwildes.com) in Sawyer County Wisconsin - Specializing on Winter Lake, Mike's Extreme Guide Service (http://mikekoepp.com/) on Pewaukee Lake, Wisconsin, Bill and James Craig (http://www.travel-net.com/~mistermuskie/) on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Darrin Engstrom (www.muskyhunt.com) in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin area, Paul Klein in the Northern Wisconsin (Vilas/Oneida counties), Mark Hintz (http://www.muskyadventures.com) in Northeaster Wisconsin, Dave Dorazio (http://www.boottails.com/guide.htm) ib the Chippewa Flowage area, Don Pfeiffer in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Crash's Landing (http://www.crashslanding.com) on Cave Run Lake in Kentuky, Ralph Florio (http://www.muskyfever.com) in Northern Indiana and Illinois, Richard Collin (www.trophymuskiecharters.com) on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Sundance Guide Service (http://www.sundanceguideservice.com) on Lake of the Woods out of the Kenora, Ontario Canada area), Jim Murphy/aka. Murph! (http://www.fishingleechlake.com/guides/), Oneida Esox/John Stefflue in the Oneida County area of Northern Wisconsin, Mike Hoen (http://fishandgame.com/mgguide) in Northwest, Wisconsin, Captain Larry D. Jones (http://www.mostlymuskies.com) on Lake Erie and the Niagra River, 7Islands Guide Service in Presque Isle Wisconsin (http://www.fishinfo.com/go/sevenislands/).......
For Baits and Products we have items from....
Musky Innovations (www.muskyinnovations.com), River Run Tackle (www.riverruntackle.com), Frabill Nets (www.frabill.com), Schunke Hydraulic Fishing Lures (www.schunkelures.com), Hooker Tackle (www.hookertackle.com), MuskieBayTackle (www.muskiebaytackle.com), Tinsel Tails (www.tinseltails.com), Land O' Lakes Tackle Company (www.landolakestackle.com), Hellraiser Tackle (www.hellraisertackle.com), Western Filament (http://www.wfilament.com/), Innovative Sport Group (www.isgfishing.com), as well as a number other generous manufacturers donations and members!!!
We need support from everyone Muskie Fisherman and Woman alike throughout the Muskie Fishing world!!! Please when you can go to http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/boards/forum.asp?forumID=19&sessionID={1C4E4638-6977-44E0-940E-38AA0C1B5389} and see all that is offered....see what interests you, make a bid!!!! Here's a chance to fish with the best, purchase the best in products that the muskie industry has to offer, and its ALL FOR CHARITY!!! Thanks for your support, and please pass this on to everyone you know!!!!!
Andrew "Slamr" Golden
Sr. Technical Recruiter
(847)577-0300 (work)
(847)989-9271 (cell)
agolden@htassociates.com