Becca and Kim at the Dinner of Champions, Charlottesville, VA
December 12, 2007
My husband's cousin owns a successful printing company in Charlottesville, Va. Whenever there is anything new coming out you with Bama Works, Red Light Management, Warehouse,or anything dMb for that matter you can bet that its in my mailbox with a post it attached with a "Thought you might like this....". Imagine my surprise when I opened a package and it had invitations to see three of the boys accepting an award for MS.
The first person I called was my good friend Kim. We met on myspace and from the first time we met in person it was as if we had known each other forever. I asked her to come along and knowing her aunt has MS and one of my bestest friends is suffering from it- it just made sense to donate our $$$$ to a great cause and go check out the boys recieving their awards for a great cause together.
After a two and half car ride we arrived in downtown C'Ville parking in the Omni hotel lot. Although we were staying with the cousins 10 minutes away we wanted to stroll the downtown area and stop by Millers to have lunch and a couple of ice cold beverages. The food wasn't the greatest but the drinks were going down pretty smoothly while we sat back and people watched. C'Ville is loaded with people dreaming to be the next best thing to make it big and many street performers squealing on their trumpets with their tip jars on the cobblestone street with small coins in it in front of them. It was a beautiful December day about 60 degrees and sunny. After spending several hours walking around downtown we decided to head back but detour into the Omni to see if we could find where the event will be taking place. Like Thelma and Louise we snuck into a long corridor and peeked into the huge doors to a banquet hall that was beautifully decorated w/ the finest china and beautiful tall flower arrangements on all the tables.
We knew this was going to be a black tie affair- tuxedos mandatory- but being two girls from Va. Beach and North Carolina, I guess it finally sank in that this wasn't going to be your normal Dave Matthews Band experience, but we would be rubbing elbows with all the Whos Who in C'Ville. Tables were bought by donations only and they started at $80,000 for an 8 top. Nothing but elegance.
While peeking into the banquet there was a woman who was sitting at one of the tables filling out forms and imagine our shock when she looks up at us and says "Are you Kim and Becca?" Amy Carter is in charge of the Blue Ridge Chapter for MS and is the woman behind this big event. She was amazed that we drove as far as we did to be a part of this award ceremony. We chatted with her for a bit before realizing that we had only a few hours to get showered and dressed. We said our goodbyes and looked forward to being back in a few short hours to watch this event unfold.
Back at the cousins we had several cocktails and chatted a bit with them, took our showers, got dressed, and realized we were already 30 minutes late and cocktail time with the fellas was in full force. Arriving back at the Omni Kim and I went up to the bartender- got a drink and proceeded to mingle. As we turned the corner there sitting on the arm of the couch was Leroi- drink in hand and conversing with his friends. Behind him standing there like royalty was Carter- decked out in his tuxedo with his skull and crossbone slippers. Truley a sight to see. His smile lit up the room. As Kim and I made our way over to him everything became really comfortable. Even though these folks were all of the 'elite' status- it felt like little old us just belonged. We were the only 'fans' in a room full of Doctors, Lawyers, Musicians, Producers, Professors, and many other professions. The liquor was flowing, the mood was festive and you could smell Christmas in the air. We chatted with Carter, Leroi, Boyd, and Coran Capshaw.
At 7pm it was time for dinner so we all filed into the huge dining room and enjoyed our 7 course meal. We were seated with 3 other couples who each participated with the boys during one time or another. Leroi's elementary school teacher sat next to me and although a nice guy he was a bit of a nuisance. On the other side of Kim was a professor at UVA and was researching breakthru medicines that would hopefully be beneficial to finding a cure for such a debilitating disease. When dinner was over I asked Kim if she wanted to go outside with me so I could have my after dinner smoke. She hates cigarettes and kinda gave me a "Not now- not here" mumble but as I headed to the door I was happy to see her following behind. Once outside I couldnt hold back my amazement any longer. Here we were in C'ville and our heros are eating dinner with us and everything was so beautiful- It was soooo perfect! When all of a sudden a side door opens and Boyd Tinsley is walking to me grabbing a smoke out of his top breast tux pocket. In the quietness of the night he belts out..."Hey Would it be okay if I were to join you? I mean we are the only smokers here!" Who me? You are asking me if its ok if YOU join me? Are you kidding me? So there we were- the 2 of us- in the beautiful evening chatting it up like we were the only ones that existed. Except for Kim who had taken up Boyd's assistant in a deep conversation.
Ten minutes later Boyd says "Welp I should get back in. Afterall, it will look quite funny to be here to receive a reward and completely miss it cuz I'm out here. With that we walk back inside. The boys recieved their awards, Amy spoke about the disasters of MS and a local woman told her story about living with MS. It was beautiful. There were tears, cheers, and smiles. We ate dessert and it was over. For some! The place emptied quickly and Kim and I had walked out to the parking garage when I had an idea. A fellow davespacer friend of ours named Stacy is truley in love with Carter. I told Kim to grab her cell, dial Stacy, and hand me the phone. I told Stacy as we were walking back into the building that I was going to put her on the phone w/ someone important and just dont choke. We walked up to Carter, told him his biggest fan was on the phone and he grabbed the phone introduced himself then WALKED AWAY with Kim's phone, all the while chatting to Stacy at his award ceremony. When he was done he turned to Leroi handed him the phone and next thing you know Leroi and Stacy are in a deep conversation. The night couldn't have gone any better- we stayed and talked with them for about 45 minutes- the wine was flowing- everyone was relaxed- and we were the happiest girls ever.
These guys are amazing. They went above and beyond any of our expectations and did it with huge smiles on their faces. We got back to the house- got into cozy pajamas and laughed about how it was just So Right!!
