Tri-county dinner a big hit
By Paul Tash
A little golfin', a little gambling', a little drinkin' and a lot a eatin' . Oh, and a couple cute Miller Lite girls. Sound like a good time to you?
If you caught the Tri-County Licensed Beverage Association's annual dinner and auction July 13 in Helena, you'd know it definitely was.
About 150 folks – mostly from the Helena area but some from points around the state – gathered at Jorgenson's to enjoy the sunny weather for the outdoor social starting at 6 p.m., before moving inside to Jorgenson's famous banquet room for the rest of the festivities.
Outside the Tri-County volunteers ran a couple of fundraisers. A golf putting game that provided an opportunity to win cash prizes for those skilled, or fortunate, enough to get a ball to fall in the correct hole. And a $20 donation got you into a straight five-card stud game – no betting, the best hand won the pot.Dinner goers were quick to participate in both events, thanks to encouragement offered by the ever-present voice of the night's emcee, Dennis White.
Once inside, the action really heated up. The Miller girls were busy selling raffle tickets for a variety of items. Those included a Millagro umbrella and a Grey Goose golf bag donated by Young's Marketing; a Michelob Ultra golf bag and back pack donated by Sandy Mac's Distributing; Captain Morgan grill accessories and pop-up canopy donated by Southern Wine and Spirits West; Twisted Tea tackle boxes, a Keystone Light barbecue grill and a Coors Light Nascar lawn chair donated by Mountain Country Distributing; bottles of Bogle Magnum donated by Georges Distributing; and a Ranier rolling cooler donated by Gusto Distributing.
In addition, cash prizes were raffled off, with Jim McDonald of Pepsi winning the largest amount of $500.
Dinner was served quickly at 7:15, and what a treat – a nice cut of prime rib done just right, big baked potato, spicy beans, end-less rolls and salad. And of course Jorgenson's serves the best horse radish on the planet (right up there with Jorgenson's blue cheese dressing, Frank Cote says). Strawberry shortcake topped off the delicious meal.
After dinner, the always-enjoyable Calcutta kicked off. Those fortunate to have their name called and “get a seat at the table” were the Wittich Law Firm of Bozeman, Nickel's Gaming Parlor in Helena, Montana Glass of Helena, Barb Grubbs of Billings, Dixie Inn of Shelby, Jackson Creek Saloon of Montana City, Windsor Bar of Boulder, Jam Entertainment of East Helena, Smith's Bar of East Helena, Timber Bar of Big Timber and Club 90 of Billings.
As emcee White explained, the Calcutta is a game where players don't want their name or number drawn, “after hoping to hear your number called all night long in the raffles,” he said.
The first eight names called of those 11 lucky enough to be selected to take part in the Calcutta did win $200. The last remaining three, however, remained in the running for the $2,000 top prize. They were Nickel's Gaming Parlor, Montana Glass and Wittich Law. To make the game more interesting, Fleetwood Gaming's Jon Dehler bought Nickel Gaming's seat for $1,000. It looked like a good move at first, as the next name called was Montana Glass, which then walked away with $400.
However, Fleetwood's name was the next called, leaving Dehler $800, and earning Wittich Law Firm the $2,000 winner.
Proceeds from the night's fundraising activities will help Tri-County Licensed Beverage Association support a variety of non-profit organizations and community events. For example, the group recently provided $5,000 to the Helena Valley Car Show and Drag Races.
White said the donation “helped keep prices affordable” for the family event that attracted over 3,000 folks to the drag races and car show.