March 20, 2023 - Regular Meeting - Glen Foster
What a fun night. Another big crowd being entertained by Glen Foster who mixed a little magic with a lot of laughs for a really great night. 8 new members welcomed into our club (picture below) and a lot of member participation in Glen's routines (more pictures below).
February 20, 2023 - Regular Meeting - Donna Moore
Another great night!!!! And another big crowd! 15 new members ( see their pictures below). And a great evening of entertainment from The Villages legend Donna Moore. She regaled us with interpretations of all the great email divas from Cher to Dolly Parton to Patsy Cline. What a performer. It Was wonderful.
January 16,2023 - Regular Meeting - Jimmy Mazz
What a night!!!!! We had the biggest crowd ever at app. 230, 27 new members, and an entertainer who blew our sox off. A common comment after the show was ' the best entertainment ever' and it was. Jimmy Mazz treated us with a run-through of all the oldies by decade with him sounding just like those legends. Terrific!
Here's pictures of our new members. And pictures of Jimmy and our own Michael Ballard and Mike Maguire having it up on stage. Such fun!
Here's pictures of our new members. And pictures of Jimmy and our own Michael Ballard and Mike Maguire having it up on stage. Such fun!
December 19, 2022- Regular Meeting - Forever Young'
Our time to celebrate the Holiday season with a small but feisty crowd of Minnesotans. We welcomed 7 new members and all thoroughly enjoyed the singing of 'Forever Young'. They had us dancing, singing along, and even joined in by Steve Larson and Michael Ballard. It was a wonderful evening,
November 21,2022 - Regular Meeting - Ric Mitchell Bingo
We had a great crowd and welcomed 17 New members to the club. We all had fun playing musical bingo with lots of bottles of wine going out to the winners.
October 17, 2022 - Regular Meeting - Tight Genes
We had our first meeting of the new season with a nice sized crowd and were entertained by a singing group called 'Tight Genes'. They're 3 siblings who got together after they all moved to The VIllages. They were terrific.
We welcomed 25 new members. See the pictures below.
We welcomed 25 new members. See the pictures below.
April 18, 2022 - Annual Picnic
We had a nice crowd and beautiful weather for our annual picnic catered by Oakwood BBQ again this year.
March 21.2022 - Regular Meeting - Billy Buchanan
We had our biggest crowd yet at about 300. Billy Buchanan had everyone flying high (Picture at upper left). He even got Denese to offer a few notes (Picture at upper middle). The rest of his show was also terrific ( Picture at upper right). we welcomed 10 new members at this meeting (Pictures at lower right and left). What a fun night!
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February 21, 2022 - Regular Meeting - Carol Ann
About 140 of us gathered together at Laurel Manor for our February meeting (picture at upper left). We had a special treat compliments of 'Nothing Bundt Cakes' (picture in upper middle). We were entertained by singer Carol Ann who gave us a good old time (picture at upper right). We also welcomed 14 new members (pictures at lower left and middle) and handed out our 50/50 proceeds to some lucky members (sample picture at lower right
January 17,2022 - Regular Meeting - Juanita Lolita
We had a nice crowd tonight (see picture at upper left) of about 175. They enjoyed the comedy of Juanita Lolita (picture at upper right) who had us all laughing and clapping. We also welcomed 18 new members to our club (see pictures in lower row). What a fun night!
December 20, 2021 - Regular Meeting - MaryJo & Dawn
Our numbers were limited because many of our members were up North or watching the Vikings game, but the many of us who did attend had a wonderful pre-Christmas evening being entertained by MaryJo Vitale and Dawn DiNome. Pictures, from left to right, are of some of our people acting our the '12 days of Christmas', our 10 new members, and Dawn and MaryJo.
November 15, 2021 - Regular Meeting - The Dorels
What a night. We had a great crowd and everyone seemed to really enjoy The Dorels. We also had 21 new members sign up and we wish them all a hearty welcome. Here are the new members and a picture of The Dorels.
October 18,2021 - Regular Meeting - Sugar Lump Sisters
After a long trying time with everyone taking care not to catch the virus, we finally got together again and had an excellent meeting. We were entertained by 3 Sugar Lump Sisters and welcomed 18 new members to the club. Welcome to all of you. Enjoy the pictures.
February 28. 2020 - Special Meeting - Ladies Luncheon
We had a delicious meal and a very informative speaker talking about 'empowering women'. How to shut off water valves, fixing waste disposals, electric stuff, etc. Everyone of the 70 ladies who joined us had a great time and were kept busy taking notes of all the tips. Here are a couple pictures of the group.
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February 17,2020 - Regular Meeting - Cash/Diamond Tribute
We had probably the best show of all tonight with Doug Allen Nash doing a tribute to Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. Almost 400 of our members had a great time singing along to some of their favorite songs from these two legends. We also welcomed 13 new members to our club and they got a super introduction to the kind of entertainment we strive to bring to the group. What an evening!!!! For pictures of the night, click on the following link...https://photos.app.goo.gl/jhNZU6GsumRZyKQr9
January 20, 2020 - Regular Meeting - Glen Foster
We had a huge crowd at the meeting tonight and welcomed 30 new members to the club. Everyone enjoyed the magic and humor of Glen Foster, who is a marvelous entertainer. He had many club members participating in his tricks and everyone had a great time. Bob & Denese Kruse MC'ed the meeting and did a great job. To see many pictures from the evening, please click on the following link...https://photos.app.goo.gl/t1RZhLwdAET1ZbHc8
December 16, 2019 - Regular Meeting - MaryJo and Clark
Well, it was quite an evening! Everyone looked great in their red clothes and fun hats and we had a big crowd sharing coffee and cookies. We welcomed 8 new members to the club. The entertainment was not quite what we had contracted for.. Mary Jo Vitale wasn’t feeling well so had a limited performance. They had arranged for the Hula Dancers to fill in and they were very nice and entertained us until Clark Barrios got there from a church concert commitment. All in all, it was still a fun evening and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We even had time to hear multiple Ole and Lena jokes from a few members. To see pictures from the evening, please click on the following link...https://photos.app.goo.gl/qd4Xtbx1zECmqqx26
December 8, 2019 - Special Recognition - Mike Maguire
One of our own, Mike Maguire, Minnesota Club Board member, was honored as veteran of the day at Disneyworld. Congratulations, Mike, and thanks so much for your service to our country and in the Minnesota club.
November 18, 2019 - Regular Meeting - Dawn DiNome
What a terrific show we had with a super entertainer, Dawn DiNome. She just lit up the room with her wonderful singing. We also welcomed 18 new members to the club and extend a warm welcome to all of them. To view pictures from this night please click on the following link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/uUvE5Avv25dW4r5f8
October 21, 2019 - Regular Meeting - Music Bingo
We kicked off our 11th season with a night of Music Bingo with Ric Mitchell. A lively crowd had a really fun evening playing bingo to the tunes we all love to hear and sing along with. We welcomed 6 new members and another potential two members to the club. To view pictures from this night please click on the following link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GMYNZNppT6tsPUjf6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GMYNZNppT6tsPUjf6
April 15 - Annual Picnic
We had our annual picnic today with a wonderful crowd of about 150 and wonderful weather. Just ideal.
For pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZRGor8nDgDyQ553M9
For pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZRGor8nDgDyQ553M9
March 8 - Special Event - Ladies Brunch
36 Ladies from the Club met at the Villages High School for a brunch put on my the Culinary Program. As ups can see by these pictures, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the brunch and the tour afterward.
March 7 - Special Event - Night Golf
For pictures of this event, please click on this link photos.app.goo.gl/sUi7P6V7D6o7SPnEA
February 18 - Regular Meeting - The Dorels
What a great evening was had by all of us listening and dancing to the songs by The Dorels. They were terrific. We had a smaller crowd than expected because of a problem with the notice sent out about the meeting. Sorry about that. For those who made it, and we did number about 250, the evening was a great success. 10 new members signed up and their pictures, one of our birthday girl, Elaine Herman, and one of The Dorels are below.g9
For more pictures of this meeting, click on the following link: photos.app.goo.gl/52EgGUwxhaU4WuYg9
For more pictures of this meeting, click on the following link: photos.app.goo.gl/52EgGUwxhaU4WuYg9
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February 1 - Special Event - Ladies Luncheon
80 ladies gathered at the Waterfront Inn for a luncheon and presentation by Spiceworld in Brownwood. Everyone had a great brunch and a great time.
January 21 - Regular Meeting - The Caribbean Chillers
We had a huge crowd tonight but managed to get everybody in, even those without passes. What a fun evening listening to and singing along with the Caribbean Chillers (sixth picture). We welcomed 27 new members (first 5 pictures). It was a fabulous night!
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/XYSJo9YverVJhuQL7
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/XYSJo9YverVJhuQL7
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December 17 - Regular Meeting - Vitale and Barrios
Fabulous meeting with 17 new members (first 9 pictures) and a wonderful night of singing with Mary Jo Vitale and Clark Barrios (10th picture). These two are awesome and sent chills up our spines with their talent.
For more pictures of this event please click on the following site https://photos.app.goo.gl/mumJT9rLpLdDZjq1A
For more pictures of this event please click on the following site https://photos.app.goo.gl/mumJT9rLpLdDZjq1A
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November 19 - Regular Meeting - Forever Young
We had a great meeting tonight, welcoming 22 new members (first 4 pictures) and rocking’ to the tunes of Forever Young (5th picture). They had us dancing in the aisles or whoever we could find an empty space. What a great group! Thanks go out to board members Mike & Judy Maguire for MC’ing tonights meeting.
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/S3Lt4tUZh8ydXYqGA
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/S3Lt4tUZh8ydXYqGA
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November 9 - Special Event - Ole & Lena Golf Scramble
On November 9 we held our annual ‘Ole & Lena’ golf scramble at Continental Golf Club. 48 or our members (lower right) took part under the watchful eye of board member Joey Hodgson (lower left). Everyone had a great time and prizes were awarded to many of the participants. A delicious lunch of tacos with all the fixings rounded out the fun day. Everybody is anxious to play again next year.
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October 15 - Regular Meeting - Howard & Rose Comedy Act
We had a rousing first meeting of the 2018/2019 season where we welcomed 32 new members (see pictures below). We were entertained by the comedy team of Howard & Rose (middle right)who related many extremely funny anecdotes from their lives that everyone in the audience could probably relate to. Then there was a record-breaking 50/50 run so efficiently by Tony & Diana DeGroot with one of our lucky winners, Tom & Betty Dewitz,(bottom left & right). We’re off to a great start of the season with many more fun things to come.
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/pusTRDaqHaSkwJKb7
For more pictures of this event please click on the following link https://photos.app.goo.gl/pusTRDaqHaSkwJKb7
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April 16 - ANNUAL SEASON-ENDING PICNIC
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It was a little chilly, but so much fun! A hearty group of Minnesotans gathered at Laurel Manor’s Pavillion on April
16 for our 9th annual season-ending picnic. We ate hamburgers and brats and all the other picnic kind of stuff catered by LaHacienda and it was yummy. Here’s Marcy, Bob & Joey calling out raffle tickets for the ‘fabulous’ cash prizes that were awarded to 30 lucky attendees. The crowd was hushed and anxious waiting for their number to be called.
16 for our 9th annual season-ending picnic. We ate hamburgers and brats and all the other picnic kind of stuff catered by LaHacienda and it was yummy. Here’s Marcy, Bob & Joey calling out raffle tickets for the ‘fabulous’ cash prizes that were awarded to 30 lucky attendees. The crowd was hushed and anxious waiting for their number to be called.
FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 3 - MN CLUB CRUISE
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33 Club members braved the mighty seas of the Gulf of Mexico on our first club cruise. We met at our local travel agent’s office and bused to Tampa where we boarded the Brilliance of the Seas Royal Caribbean. That’s our ship on the left. We sailed to Grand Cayman, then to Cozumel, then back to Tampa for 5 days. Oh, by the way, when I said earlier that we braved the mighty seas, I exaggerated a bit. The seas were very calm the whole way. We had a great cruise with some wonderful people who are all pictured on the right.
MARCH 6, 2018 SPECIAL EVENT - NIGHT GOLF
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We had a good crowd tailgating and golfing at our annual Night Golf outing on March 6 at Saddlebrook. The food was delicious and detracted us from worrying about whether it would rain or not. We did get a few sprinkles but not enough to stop us from having a good time. The picture on the left shows us all enjoying a tailgating feast and the picture on the right is of the 1st place group who shot a score of 26. Amazing!
FEBRUARY 19, 2018 REGULAR MEETING - ROCKIN’ PIANOS
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While some of us were on our first MN Club Cruise, most other members (picture on upper left) were enjoying the Rockin’ Pianos (picture on lower right) at our meeting at Laurel Manor. We welcomed 15 new members (picture on upper right) and everyone, by all reports, had a great time. Joey Hodgson did a super job as MC and active participant in the evening’s fun (on the left in the picture on the lower left).
JANUARY 15, 2018 REGULAR MEETING - BARRIOS & MERKEL
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Another rousing meeting was had on January 15th. Our MC’s for the night were board members Steve and Colleen Larson (upper left) and we welcomed 31 new members (upper right) bringing our total membership to 713. We had such a large crowd (a record 330) that we were warned that we might have to turn people away according to the fire marshall’s rules. To avoid that we might have to go with chairs only and no tables for future big meetings. The big draw was our entertainment for the night, Clark Barrios and Cathy Merkel (lower left) and they had the crowd jumping, including an impromptu dance line by some of our more enthusiastic members (lower right)
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DECEMBER 18, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - MARYJO VITALE
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Our Decesmber meeting was spectacular all the way around. We welcomed 13 new members (shown on left) bringing our total membership to 682 and were fabulously entertained by Mary Jo Vitale (shown on right singing a duet with Santa board member Jerry Larson). We can’t say enough about Mary Jo. She put on a wonderful show and we’d welcome her back anytime.
NOVEMBER 20, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - DIVAS THR DECADES
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What a great meeting! A huge crowd of us welcomed 15 new members (above left) and we all enjoyed a rousing evening of great songs and music provided by ‘Divas Through the Decades’. Tamula Browning sang all the Divas classics accompanied by Carl Lewis on the saxophone and flute. They were great!
NOVEMBER 19, 2017 VIKINGS WATCHING AT CITY FIRE
Our Vikings are hot! A great crowd of about 65 fans gathered at City Fire in Brownwood to cheer our team on to victory against the Rams. We’re playing again on Thanksgiving day, but we’re meeting again at City Fire to watch the Vikes post their next victory against the Falcons on December 3. Skol Vikings!
NOVEMBER 10, 2017 ‘OLE & LENA’ GOLF SCRAMBLE
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We held our annual ‘Ole & Lena’ golf scramble on November 10, 2017 at Continental Country Club. 48 superb golfers teed it up at 8 AM, had a great round of golf and enjoyed a wonderful taco lunch in the clubhouse after.
Many thanks to Joey Hodgson for organizing this event and MC’ing the awarding of ‘huge’ cash prizes for the winners.
Many thanks to Joey Hodgson for organizing this event and MC’ing the awarding of ‘huge’ cash prizes for the winners.
OCTOBER 16, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - JOHN DENVER TRIBUTE
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Our first meeting of the 2017/2018 season was a big hit with about 275 returning Minnesotans and 27 newcomers who joined the club (pictured above right) welcomed by Marcy Solomonson. Then Mike Maguire introduced our entertainment for the evening; Dr. Carl Bennett Who looked and sounded very much like John Denver and accompanied by Forrest Rogers. Everyone had a ball singing along to all our favorites. It was FAR OUT!
MARCH 27, 2017 SPECIAL EVENT - GYPSY GOLD HORSE TOUR
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On Monday, March 27, 50 of us had very enjoyable day touring the Gypsy Gold Horse Farm. We heard about the history of these fantastic horses and how they were bred especially to pull the Gypsy wagons in Europe. After an entertaining talk by the owner of the farm, we got to walk the grounds and meet the horses, including a 3 week old filly who was as cute as could be. After the tour, some of us met at Sonny’s BBQ for lunch. Yum!
MARCH 20, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - BOBBY TATE
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What a fun night. We had a nice crowd enjoying the music of Bobby Tate who gave us everything from country to the Electric Slide. It was great seeing so many members up and dancing. We also welcomed 5 new members to the club bringing our total to 784. And we had many sign up for the PICNIC next month which will mark the end of our 8th season as a club. It’s been a good ride!
FEBRUARY 20, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - ‘CHER’ & ‘DON RICKLES'
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What a fantastic night! A great crowd of one 350 and a great night of entertainment with Georgianne Hill as ‘Cher’ and Mike Wally Walter as ‘Don Rickles’. Upper left is ‘Cher’ with Woody Glass. Upper right is ‘Cher’ with Orv Askeland. Then there’s Cher out in the crowd and ‘Don’ insulting some of our members. He was hilarious.
We welcomed 14 new members and everyone had a wonderful night.
We welcomed 14 new members and everyone had a wonderful night.
JANUARY 16,, 2017 REGULAR MEETING - BINGO
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We had a tremendous crowd to play Bingo. We also welcomed 22 new members to our club. They’re pictured above. Everyone was thrilled when we announced the first Bingo winner would receive $100. The same prize was given to subsequent winners until the cover-all when $150 was awarded. WOW! 50/50 was also a big hit with many happy winners. Thanks to everyone for attending and making this such a memorable evening.
DECEMBER 19, 2016 REGULAR MEETING - CSQUARED
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What an evening! Clark Barrios and Cathy Merkel are such excellent performers that it's almost impossible to describe how good they are. They thrilled us with songs of all types, including many Christmas tunes. Even including 'Sherry Baby' with Clark doing his famous impression of Frankie Valli. We loved this show!
NOVEMBER 21, 2016 REGULAR MEETING - 'ELVIS'
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We shook, rattled, and rolled to Minnesota native Chris Olson, as he entertained us royally as the King, Elvis! We had one of our biggest crowds and everyone had a terrific time. So much fun!
NOVEMBER 11, 2016 "OLE & LENA" GOLF SCRAMBLE
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We had fewer people at the scramble than past years, but just as much fun! We tried a new course, Continental Country Club in Wildwood and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 52 of our 'best' golfers took part and shared afterwards in a nice lunch and some cash prizes. Everybody loves lunch and cash!! We'll be looking forward to next years scramble and another opportunity to have fun with fellow Minnesotans.
OCTOBER 17,2016 MEETING WITH WALLY LIBENSON
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What a great way to start our 2016/2017 season. About 240 members, enthused about our Vikings win streak, packed the house and welcomed 26 new members (middle picture)to the club. We were heartily entertained by Wally Libenson who amazed and tickled us with his magic and humor. Fun night!
APRIL 2016 ANNUAL PICNIC
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What a great day, both weatherize, and fun-wise for the 189 Minnesota Club members who met for our annual end-of-season picnic at Laurel Manor Pavillion. In past years, we’ve had excessive heat, rain, and yes, some good weather, but this year was something special. We had Oakwood Grill cater again this year and everyone agreed that it was a super meal (and we had plenty of everything). Here’s hoping that you all have a great summer and we’ll see you in October for another year of fun with the MINNESOTA CLUB.
MARCH 3, 2016 SPECIAL EVENT - NIGHT GOLF
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We had 76 golfing Minnesotans out for Night Golf on the 3rd of March. Everyone had a great time beforehand sampling hardy fare at our tailgating party and then had a fun time taming Saddlebrook with lighted golf balls and flags. Here are a couple pictures of some of our winners. On the left, winners with one of the low scores on the course, and on the right, the three gentlemen who each scored an ace on the putting green contest. Congrats to all the winners and all of the participants. It was a great evening!
nFEBRUARY 26, 2016 LADIES LUNCHEON
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60 Minnesota Club ladies luncheoned at the Waterfront Inn at Sumter Landing on Friday, the 26th of February. They had a wonderful meal and were treated to an Accessory Fashion Show put on by Chico’s. The ladies had a wonderful time catching up with each other and dressing up including, as seen on the right, some lovely hats
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 MEETING FEATURING THE DORELS
We had the largest crowd ever, I think, of over 325 Minnesotans being
entertained by The Dorels. What a fabulous group! They had us all
and dancing and whooping it up to all the oldies but goodies. We were so
grateful to Bobbi Yush and Lake Nissan for sponsoring our show tonight
and can’t thank them enough. We had a very profitable 50/50 as you can
see in the picture above for some lucky members and all-in-all, a very
memorable evening.
entertained by The Dorels. What a fabulous group! They had us all
and dancing and whooping it up to all the oldies but goodies. We were so
grateful to Bobbi Yush and Lake Nissan for sponsoring our show tonight
and can’t thank them enough. We had a very profitable 50/50 as you can
see in the picture above for some lucky members and all-in-all, a very
memorable evening.
JANUARY 18,2016 MEETING WITH HOMER NOODLEMAN
What a blast! And what a crowd! 300 of us howled at Homer Noodleman and his terrific act. What a showman. He did one-liners, impressions, ventriloquism,skits, instruments, singing. You name it, he did it, and did it well. Practically everyone commented on what a great show it was. We also were pleased to welcome 26 new members to make our numbers swell to 735. Welcome to all of you.
DECEMBER 21,2015 MTG WITH LORI GILL & THE NOTEBENDERS
Another terrific night of entertainment was enjoyed by over 250 club members listening to the beautiful voice of Lori Gill and the beautiful music of The Notebenders. What a fantastic group! We listened to and sang along with many great Christmas songs and danced to a wide variety of other great classic songs and a surprise visit from ‘Elfish’ - an elf-like santa and Elvis combined. Thanks to the group and thanks to all our attendees. A great prelude to Christmas. Also thanks to Bobbi Yush and Lake Nissan for their contribution to help us bring such quality entertainment to the Club.
NOVEMBER 16, 2015 MEETING WITH DUELING PIANOS
Wow! What a night! Almost 300 of us were thoroughly entertained by Ty and Chris (The Rockin’ Pianos and their dueling pianos show). They had all of us singing, dancing and making fools of ourselves the whole evening. We also had a wonderful response to our request for gifts for the Sozo Kids and many of us had our pictures taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. I think all of us would agree that this was one of the best evenings we’ve had at the Club. Thanks to Chris and Ty.
NOVEMBER 9, 2015 MN CLUB CHEERS ON THE VIKINGS
GO VIKINGS!!! This was the cheer heard all around Honest John’s at Sumter Landing as the Vikings defeated the Rams in overtime. This was the third Sunday that around 100 MN club members gathered to ensure a Vikings win and we thoroughly enjoyed $1 beers and great chicken wings and even watched the game most of the time.
NOVEMBER 6, 2015 ANNUAL ‘OLE & LENA’ GOLF SCRAMBLE
Another great event! 76 hardy Minnesota golfers took to the Links at Spruce Creek for our annual ‘Ole & Lena’ golf scramble. After a rousing round of golf we all gathered in the clubhouse for ‘a little lunch’. And, of course, the awarding of ‘FABULOUS’ prizes followed that.
APRIL 20, 2015 MEETING & PICNIC
We had a little weather this year, so we had to move indoors. Just lucky we have that option. A great time was had by all and everyone was looking forward to a great summer. Oakwood was a little disappointing this year, but still very good. We’ll shape them up for next year.
FEBRUARY 16,2015 MEETING
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At our February meeting, over 300 Minnesotans were entertained by Mark Stone, the Mentalist, and his amazing abilities as a mind-reader. None of us could figure out how he could do what he did. What a show! We also welcomed 19 new people to the club bringing our total to 863 members. WOW!
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JANUARY 1, 2015 CITRUS BOWL
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After many inquiries about taking a bus to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, we decided to go for it. We filled a bus in about 4 hours and 60 of made the trip. It was a great day, with beautiful weather and fun times. One thing that would have made it even better was if the Gophers had won. Maybe next year!
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OCTOBER, 2014 OLE & LENA GOLF SCRAMBLE
80 hearty Minnesotans gathered at The Links golf course for our annual ‘Ole & Lena’ golf scramble. It was a perfect day, weather-wise and everyone had a great time. After golf, we all had a great lunch in the clubhouse and prizes were awarded. The winning team had a score of 10 under par. Wow! This is such a fun event and everyone seemed to agree that they couldn’t wait till next year to do it all over again.
OCTOBER, 2014 MEETING
We started our 2014/2015 season off on October 20, with a terrific night of fun and the wonderful songs of Suzie Casta. A huge crowd of Minnesotans really got into the spirit of things singing and dancing along with Suzie. What a great evening and a great start to our new year.
APRIL, 2014 MEETING/PICNIC
On April 21, we held our fifth annual season-ending picnic at the Pavillion outside Laurel Manor. 224 enthusiastic members joined the board, pictured here, for a fun day of fellowship and good food. The fellowship was thanks to all the great Minnesota attendees, and the food was thanks to Oakwood, who catered our picnic for the fifth time so successfully. Attendees not only had a great meal but many also won 50/50 money and the chance to win thousands from the many scratch-off lottery tickets that were drawn for. A great farewell party until we meet again in the Fall. Have a great summer.
FEBRUARY, 2014 MEETING
Our meeting of February 17, was a fun night of game playing. It was hosted by Ric Mitchell. the Game Show Man. He has a computer run program which enables him to not only have trivia games which the whole audience can participate in, but also popular games like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune which he played with audience volunteers while the rest of us watched and enjoyed. It was a great evening.
JANUARY, 2014 MEETING
What a show we had for our meeting on the 29th. Dunning Shaw and Donna Moore had a huge crowd of 365 of us rolling in the aisles with their crazy impersonations and huge talent. In these pictures they gave hilarious spoofs of Sonny and Cher, Dolly Parton and Elvis. It was hard to know which pictures to include in our Gallery ‘cuz there were so many good ones, but had to show you some of the best.
DECEMBER, 2013 MEETING
We had a full house to listen to the wonderful Christmas music of MaryJo Vitale and Josh Leggitt. They were terrific! Everyone was in the Christmas spirit all decked out in red and ready for anything. We shared cookies and even joined in on a couple of standard songs. Thanks so much to MaryJo, Josh, and Dr. Vitale for another great Christmas show.
NOVEMBER, 2013 MEETING
Our casino night was a big hit. Members had a fun time gambling with 'funny' money with those big winners taking home some nice prizes. Shazam did a great job running the event and Bobbi Yush of Lake Nissan not only represented her dealership as a sponsor of the evening, but also dealt a table of poker for us as well. Thanks for all our volunteer dealers and all those who helped make it a fun night.
NOVEMBER 2013 GOLF SCRAMBLE
Sure, it was a little chilly first thing, but it warmed into a wonderful sunny day for golf at the Links of Spruce Creek on Friday, 11/8. 72 hardy Minnesotans/Villagers had a great day of golf and fun and took home a great golf towel gift and a bunch of cash prizes along with enjoying a terrific lunch. All in all, a super day. Thanks to all who planned and participated.
OCTOBER, 2013 MEETING
Tonight, we welcomed these 42 new members to our club. This brings our total number of members to a whopping 691. Wow! Way to go Minnesotans.
We had a great turnout for our first meeting of the year. We tried something new with 'mingle' time. We imagined the room as an outline of Minnesota and gathered in that section of the room (state) that we were from and just chatted with each other for 15 minutes or so. Fun!
At our first meeting, we were entertained by magician/ventriloquist Mike Palma. Here he is enlisting the help of one of our unsuspecting members to help him with a trick.
APRIL, 2013 ANNUAL PICNIC
185 happy Minnesota picnickers enjoyed a fine day at the Pavillion at Laurel Manor when we held our annual picnic catered by Oakwood. Ribs, chicken, cole slaw, beans, rolls, and cookies were heartily devoured by our famished club members. Prodigious amounts of cash were awarded to lucky lottery winners and a good day was had by all. Thanks for a great ending to another successful season of the Minnesota Club.
MARCH, 2013 TWINS GAME
Another fun day was had by a busload of loyal Twins fans when we traveled to Ft. Myers to see the Twins play the Yankees. It was warm and overcast which made for a perfect day at the ballpark. The Twins lost but it was a good game, and we were able to cheer for Twins stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Here's a few pictures from the game.
MARCH, 2013 PETRINA
Our March meeting was held on Friday, the 15th, rather than on our regular day because of the competition from St. Patrick's Day in The Villages. We had a rip-roaring time being entertained by Petrina. She really had us Minnesotans rocking. What a fabulous entertainer.
FEBRUARY, 2013 SOCK HOP
Our first sock hop was a great success. Not a huge crowd, but a great one, and everybody had a wonderful time dancing to the tunes of DJ Bob Fowler. Woody added to the Elvis theme with a great costume, and many others joined the fun by dressing up, or down, I guess, in their 50's garb. We had a dance contest, a bubble blowing contest, a trivia challenge, and prizes for best 'dressed' and best 'Elvis'. A great evening.
JANUARY, 2013 BILLIE THATCHER & RED GARTER BAND
Our January meeting brought in a huge crowd to enjoy the fantastic Billie Thatcher and the wonderful Red Garter Jazz Band. What a night!
Everybody was tapping their feet, and some brave souls even got up to dance, especially when the band departed from their normal fare and played a rousing version of Beer Barrel Polka. As a club, we passed another milestone by presenting a certificate to our 600th new member, Mr. Stan Hortness. But we didn't stop with Stan, we added another 27 new members, so our number is now at 627. WOW!
Everybody was tapping their feet, and some brave souls even got up to dance, especially when the band departed from their normal fare and played a rousing version of Beer Barrel Polka. As a club, we passed another milestone by presenting a certificate to our 600th new member, Mr. Stan Hortness. But we didn't stop with Stan, we added another 27 new members, so our number is now at 627. WOW!
NOVEMBER, 2012 OLE & LENA GOLF SCRAMBLE
We held our third annual golf scramble on Friday, November 9, at The Links of Spruce Creek golf course. 72 brave souls got together at 7:30 AM in 39 degree weather, but it didn't seem to stifle their enthusiasm much at all. It warmed up quickly and turned out to be a beautiful day for golf. Most of us had a good round and then enjoyed a good lunch at the club. Cash prizes were awarded and each person received a gift from the club of a golf package with our club name on golf balls, tees, & Markers. Many thanks to Bob & Denese Kruse for organizing this event and to Wayne & Suzanne Guttsen for volunteering to collect & organize the scorecards.
APRIL, 2012 ANNUAL PICNIC
We held our third annual season-ending picnic on Monday, April 16, at Laurel Manor. 211 hardy souls braved the gorgeous weather and had a ball. We had great conversations, great food from Oakwood, a wet and wonderful water balloon toss, and many participants went home a little richer from the many cash prizes awarded to many lucky Minnesotans. We'll see you all in October when we start our 2012-2013 season. Thanks for a great year!
MARCH, 2012 TWINS SPRING TRAINING GAME
104 loyal Twins fans from the club made the trip down to Dunedin to witness a 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, March 30.
We had a wonderful day and sat in the shade which was a vast improvement over last year when we cooked in the sun. We stopped at the Pizza Villa again after the game and had another great meal.
A good time was had by all. Maybe next year we'll make the trip to Ft. Myers and watch the Twins A-team play.
We had a wonderful day and sat in the shade which was a vast improvement over last year when we cooked in the sun. We stopped at the Pizza Villa again after the game and had another great meal.
A good time was had by all. Maybe next year we'll make the trip to Ft. Myers and watch the Twins A-team play.
FEBRUARY, 2012 SWEETHEART BALL
We held our third annual Sweetheart Ball on February 18, and everyone had a marvelous time enjoying the food catered by LaHacienda, the dancing to the tunes of Cool Breeze, and the company of fellow Minnesotans.
JANUARY, 2012 MEETING
Our meeting of January 16 showcased M&M Productions presentation of 'Eat, Drink, and be Murdered'. A murder mystery where our audience was asked to deduce, at the end of the show, who had committed the murder. As you can see by the photo, we had a terrific large crowd in attendance and everyone had a great time enjoying the show.
NOVEMBER, 2011 EVENT
Our third annual golf scramble was held on November 11 at the Spruce Creek Links course. It was a little chilly, but not near as bad as last year. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the lunch and prizes after golfing. Here we are, ready to go, in back of our new club banner.
OCTOBER, 2011 MEETING
Our October meeting, on the 17th, had us entertained by David Berardi, a clever and funny magician. We had a good crowd, as you can see, and everyone had a good time.
APRIL, 2011 PICNIC
Our second annual season ending picnic was held at Laurel Manor where we took over the pavilion, the bocce, horseshoe, shuffleboard, and pickleball courts. We had a great turnout of 184 Minnesotans who all had a marvelous time. Shade was at a premium and not a speck of it went unused. We ended the day with a wish for everyone to have a great summer and that we'd see them in the Fall. We repeat that wish to all of you now.
FEBRUARY, 2011 SWEETHEART BALL
Our second annual Sweetheart Ball was an outstanding success. Over 100 enthusiastic club members ate, danced and chatted the night away at Laurel Manor thanks to a wonderful dinner catered by La Hacienda, wonderful music provided by Cool Breeze, and wonderful conversation provided by fellow Minnesotans. A great time was had by all.
JANUARY, 2011 MEETING
Our January meeting, on the 17th, featured a fun night of BINGO, BINGO, BINGO. Over 240 members and guests played bingo and shared snacks and drinks and lots of prize money. Another great evening at the Minnesota Club.
NOVEMBER, 2010 MEETING
Our November meeting, on the 15th, was held at Laurel Manor Downs and featured the running of the Minnesota Club Stakes. A great time was had by all, especially the big winners who bet on the right horse.
Third Meeting February 15, 2010
Our third meeting was also our first annual Sweetheart Ball Dinner Dance. It was a wonderful evening held at Laurel Manor with a fabulous dinner hosted by LaHacienda and music by 'Cool Breeze'. Everyone agreed that it was a great evening.
Here's 'Cool Breeze' playing for us as we danced and ate the night away.
Second Meeting January 18, 2010
Someone messed up. No pictures were taken of our wildly successful second meeting. We had a Cash Bingo night at our new meeting place, Laurel Manor. We now can host 250 people. Yahoo. Of course, we realized later that we now had over 330 members. What do we do if everyone shows up?
First Meeting December 7, 2009
Here's a photo taken at our first meeting on December 7 at the Churchill Recreation Center. We had a fantastic turnout of over 150 people and had to turn some people away as our room only held 150. It was an organizational meeting where we just got to know each other a little bit. We're going to need a bigger room for sure.
