Thank You All (Especially Deborah) for Friday…On to the Flying Pigeon in June

By Damien Newton
Apr 29, 2013

Screen Shot 2013-04-28 at 10.24.34 PM — At fundraisers, the majority of the praise usually goes towards the group or people raising the funds. However, Deborah Murphy was the heart and soul of last night's event providing gourmet food, an amazing view, a wait staff, a wonderful house and everything a perfect night could want. To see pics of me hamming it up with our VIP's, the Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake or any of the other pictures from the Streetsblog camera, click ##https://www.facebook.com/damien.newton/photos?collection_token=642079432%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.10151588224604433.1073741826.642079432&type=1&notif_t=like##here.##

Wow, what a party. I could probably spend the entire post just raving about the food, atmosphere, ambiance and crowd that showed up at Deborah Murphy’s Silver Lake Home on Saturday night for our 5th Birthday Party and 2012 Streetsie Award Night but then I wouldn’t have time for all the thank you’s that I owe.

For anyone who missed the event everyone raved about, there will be a similar one for Los Angeles Walks, the group Deborah founded, in June 1. We will have all the details when they’re more available.

Now on to the Thank You’s:

Thanks you to Deborah. That was the second fundraiser that was above and beyond the call of duty that Deborah’s thrown us since we re-launched in August of 2010. I can’t thank you enough for all that you do for the city and for Streetsblog. You’re an amazing friend, caterer and advocate…not in that order. Thank You.
Thanks to everyone else that attended. We don’t have an exact head count…what’s with you people and not using the sign-in sheets…but I counter over 50 people at two different points during the night. Amazing turnout.
Thanks to the volunteers who helped make the night extra special…Jessica Meaney, Carter Rubin, and Alissa Walker. Walker, one of L.A.’s pre-eminent Livable Streets writers, created the floral decorations for the second time in two “Deborah’s House Fundraisers.”
Our award winners. Jaime De La Vega, who made it despite his daughter’s birthday party, Ara Najarian and Valerie Watson. Thanks for coming, and thanks for moving the ball. As much as I loved the speeches by all three winners, I think De La Vega had the line of the night when he joked that because of the frame we used he could carry his Streetsie with him whenever he left a room.
As amazed as I was at all the Westsiders and Santa Monica folks…a special thanks to those that made a super effort to attend: the SoCATA team who split a taxi, Charlie Gandy and Melissa Balmer for braving the freeways all the way from Long Beach and to all our bike riders who braved the hills to attend: especially Aaron Sosnick who biked from Pasadena by way of Orange 20 (with an assist from Metro) thanks to a nasty flat.

Our next planned fundraiser is in the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop in June. Date and time to be announced.