THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230233
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Eric Feber and Patricia Huang
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Professional baseball's world series has been canceled because of the players' strike, but the United Way campaign at Chesapeake General Hospital was deemed a rousing success as it held its own World Series Celebration recently to mark its 1994 United Way campaign finale.
The theme for the hospital's 1994 campaign was ``Hit A Grand Slam for the United Way.'' And hit a grand slam they did, said Mary Darden, director of the Chesapeake campaign.
``They raised $74,414 for the local chapter,'' Darden said. ``That's an increase of $14,644 over last year's campaign. They just did a super job.''
The hospital began its drive last month as a Pacesetter fund-raiser. Pacesetter companies are those reliable businesses and organizations that get behind the annual United Way campaign year after year, Darden said.
The Pacesetters begin their campaign in midsummer to set the pace or tone of giving for the general fall campaign, she added.
Hospital president Donald S. Buckley, also chairman of Chesapeake's 1994 United Way campaign, headed the hospital's effort.
During a mid-August kickoff, Buckley donned a baseball uniform and symbolically knocked a few out of the park for the fall fund drive.
The hospital's World Series celebration was held on its front lawn and featured special guest D.J. Dozier, a Kempsville High School graduate and former Minnesota Vikings football player. Dozier joined Buckley in a special address given to the hospital employees thanking them for their support.
Employees also enjoyed a visit by Tidewater Tides mascot Riptide and feasted on hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream and soft drinks. Voices in the wilderness
To get to know each other a little better, members of the the Chesapeake Civic Chorus and its board of directors took to the woods.
A get-together picnic was held at the end of August at the bucolic Northwest River Park, said Pearly Edwards, the chorus' publicity chairperson.
The chorus is a group of volunteer citizen singers led by music director Geraldine T. Boone. It performs two major concerts a year and includes the classics, light classics, pops songs, liturgical songs and gospel and spiritual numbers in its repertoire.
Chorus members, board members and their friends and spouses all enjoyed the park's greenery and each other.
``It was all very jovial,'' she said. ``Everything was in a light, fun mood. Everyone in attendance got to know one another better.''
The singers, board and their guests played board games, swapped anecdotes and stories about each other.
Then they feasted.
Edwards said the outdoor revelers enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecued ribs, shish kebabs and other picnic goodies.
``Everybody enjoyed it,'' Edwards said. ``They're all still talking about it. Board members said they got to know the singers better and the singers said they got to know the board a little better.''
And anytime you get some singers together, there's bound to be some vocalizing.
``The men did some singing and harmonizing,'' Edwards said. ``They all gathered up in a spot and their voices just rang all over the park. It was a great way to end the day.'' Searching for mother
Every time Gloria Torres and her husband spot a yard sale or a roadside flea market, they just have to stop and look.
But unlike others who are out to collect new knickknacks or look for that unique antique, the Torreses are searching for all their worldly possessions - including the ashes of Gloria's mother.
These items, once held in storage, were lost in August when their payment at a Bunny Rabbit Self-Storage facility was late and the Norfolk company sold the contents of their storage shed at a public auction. Among their possessions sold from the shed was a small black lacquered box that held the remains of Nancy Vogel, Gloria's mother.
Usually auction sales are made to flea market salesmen and thrift store owners who buy things to resell and are often unaware of the contents of the boxes.
The Torreses admit they had been juggling bills and struggling to make ends meet, but Gloria Torres blames the storage shed facility for sending her an improper notice of the payment deadline and auction date. Among the items lost were family heirlooms, baby pictures of her children and herself, birth certificates, a dining room set and antique grandfather clock, jewelry, Navy uniforms and mementos.
``There were things in there that a million dollars could never replace,'' Torres said. ``I mean, how can you replace my mom?''
The Torreses managed to retrieve two photo albums returned anonymously last month to the storage shed but haven't been able to find any of their other possessions.
But with every yard sale, flea market and thrift store, Torres said, the search continues. by CNB