Come hang out at the January Phlocking this Friday at the E-Club as usual. Convening at 7PM we can share Christmas and New year’s Eve stories. I’m sure there will be laughs and leftover holiday cheer! DJ Robbie Jones will be spinning some tunes, free food buffet as usual, and some beer specials. Remember to bring some cash to pay your dues (still an inexpensive $10 annually) for 2015; this allows us to update our rolls for reporting membership to national and we won’t have to keep bugging you, haha. We look forward to seeing everyone there, have a Happy New Years celebration and everyone be safe.
All posts by Joel Dunn
Parade Winnings donated to Hannah’s Hope
Our parade winnings of $250 were donated to Hannah’s Hope. They were so grateful for the donation as they just received their non profit 501c3 status. The money they raise for their new organization goes to needy children. Since Kelley and Erin were the “big birds” (organizers) of the parade float, we asked them to pick the charity. Erin and Kelley table at Salty Air Market in the summer and so know the family and their story well. We will try to follow what they do with their organization for the future. They are still selling Christmas trees at the Salty Air Market in Cedar Point, $5 from each tree goes towards Hannah’s Hope. Renee now has $680 from Parrot Head donations that she and her elves will use to shop for 5 needy families. What a generous group of folks we have! Merry Christmas all.
December Phlocking/Christmas Party
Great PHlocking on the 5th, got to see a lot of folks we had not seen in a bit. We raised $543 for the needy families that will be shopped for by Renee and her elves. Thanks so much for being such generous Parrot Heads. The ugly sweaters were awesome. Three finalists, Tara, Marsha and Clyde pictured here. Merry Christmas all and you helped make a better Christmas for 5 families.
The “S.S. Parrot Head” takes first prize!
The SS Parrot Head took first place in the Non-Profits in the Emerald Isle Parade on Nov. 29th. There was lots of fun and good food at numerous work parties to build our cruise ship all fall. Special thanks to Kelly and Erin for their vision, and planning and organizing things. Our $250 prize will be donated to a brand new non profit 501c3 Hannah’s Hope that will provide all kinds of help to underprivileged kids in our area.
Parrot Heads Ride Again!
Parrot Heads Ride Again!
– June 3, 2013Posted in: Current Articles
Hey Kids! What time is it? Howdy Doody Time!… No. Wait, that’s not right! BEACH BICYCLE POKER TIME!! But to keep all y’all in suspense (ooooh…), let’s recount the events leading up to it. First the crew had to get through our regular PHlocking with a killer combination of a Kentucky Derby/Cinco De Mayo themed gathering; plenty of PHolks dressed up in bizarre costumes to suit both events, lots of “challenging” games (like herding cats with this crew of fun loving PHlockers), laughter, incredible edibles, great tunes from our boys Jack & Dickie along with David sliding in to put a spin on things. Our PHlocking coordinators work hard to make our PHlockings a fun event and we greatly appreciate the time and effort they put in to ensure that everyone has a good time (It’s the Parrot Head way). Of course there was plenty of trash talk about who would win the bike decorating categories in the Poker Run, and some last minute planning and volunteering for the event. We also managed to throw in some donations to the Humane Society, do a 50/50 raffle for the EI Sea Turtle Program, and signed up 27 new members who wanted to join in the fun.
Onward to the big event – the world renown Beach Bike Poker Run! With great weather (always have our fingers crossed), we drew a crowd of 169 registrants for this fundraiser, who showed up on decorated bicycles to compete in the bike decorating contest and get ready for a hilarious ride on the Isle. First place in this year’s 3 categories of bike decoration (Cowboy in the Jungle, Growing older but not up, and Boat drinks) came as a sweep to the Hicks clan; James, Jan, and new coming son in law Jason Holland slammed into first place each scoring a $50 gift card donated by Walmart. Not to worry, lots of other category winners in 2nd and 3rd place with good donated prizes and plenty of shoulda/coulda winners out there. The main goal of having fun was obviously reached in this part of the event, so we then unleashed this wild eyed herd of cyclists and some walkers to hit 5 designated stops on the Isle (The Irish Pirate, Emerald Grill, El Zarape, Rucker John’s, and Flipperz) to pick up a card from one of our dedicated “Card Sharks” at each of the stops in hopes of gleaning a good poker hand. A few tumbles here and there (gotta get more practice coordinating that riding) but everyone arrived back at the Emerald Club relatively unscathed and grinning from ear to ear. After some serious deliberation and sorting out 169 completed poker hands, we came up with lucky first, second, and third place winners of $300, $200, and $100 cash awards. At this point in the day, some of the wheels were off the cart and no one really remembers the winning names, but the winners sure did. Thanks to the E Club and the Parrot Head Club for donating these bucks to the winners.
Lots of raffle tickets were sold for great prizes generously donated by local merchants and individuals. We’re so lucky to live in a community that supports the Parrot Head Club in our fundraising and partying; THANKS to all, you’re the best! We sure hope you go out of your way to support and patronize them. Door prizes from each of the stops were also drawn, T shirts, beads, and cozies were shot out into the crowd, and Big Dan got everyone dancing and carrying on with his DJ thing. Making sure no one went hungry, the Parrot Heads and the E Club arranged for a spread of tasty grub to cleanse the palate. Many many thanks to the core group of Parrot Head volunteered who pulled everything together to make this happen. A rowdy fun filled time, and BEST OF ALL… WE RAISED $4490 at the event that was all donated to the Hope for the Warriors charity to help support those who have given so much for our country. A very small thank you to a deserving charity that we were proud to be able to make happen by Partying With A Purpose. Another great day in a great place to live.
June and July seem to be recuperation time for the Parrot Head Club (aside from our regular PHirst PHriday PHlockings; come on down to The Emerald Club for some laughter, friendship, and rowdy times), but we’ll be doing good things in the community individually during this busy tourist time and will be getting ready for our annual Island Party in August followed by a host of other fun events. In the meantime, say thanks to a Parrot Head for their role in making our community a fun and better place to live, and don’t forget to wish a happy birthday to our crew who were dropped into the world in June of various years. They be: Bill McGowen, Paula Patteson, “Lovely Lois” Harmande, Gary Odle, Brad Bills, Jack “Zack Brown” Synan, Tom Stout, Mickey Henrickson, Ann Stewart, Randy Penny, Gigi Linder, Pam “Turtles” Minnick, Terry Passey, Donna Grady, Gary Pontenberg, Bill “Cap’n Coastie” Gerdsen, Sandy Rockenhauser, Dianne “Mrs. Mayor” Schools, and Tim Hester.
So, tha’s all, y’all. Keep a smile on your face, practice random acts of kindness, give back to your community, and breathe in, breathe out… life is grand. See you around the Isle! Ken
Fringe benefit for Parrot Heads at local salon
The club recently received the following message:
“Hello! My name is Heather Keith and I am a hairstylist at Just Hair in Emerald Isle beside Food Lion. I would like to offer the Parrot Heads half off of a haircut for ladies and gentleman for checking out our salon! Must book with me- Heather and just mention Parrot Head when booking to get discount. Includes children and spouses!!! Look forward to meeting everyone!! 252-412-1933″
If you’re interested go see her.
National Parrot Head Convention
Every November (first weekend) the National Parrot Head Organization puts together a convention in Key West that is outstanding and so much fun. Ken and I have gone twice and the music venues, street fairs and gatherings of Parrot Heads from around the world is something every Parrot Head should do at least once. All you have to do to get details is to go to PHIP.com and use the drop down list to find MOTM (Meeting of the Minds). They have a different theme every year and this year it is Havana Daydreaming, 10/29-11/2/14. Anyone interested? Email me at stonesend@gmail.com. So far the following Parrot Heads are signed up; Jan and James Hicks, Bobbie Raub and Jeanne LaVana, Rita Babich, Karin Woodruff and we have interest from the following: Stones, Bonnie Forkey, Dyers and Potenbergs. The cut off for registration is September 30th or when they reach 3500.
2014 Beach Bike Poker Run
The results are in….we raised $6300 for the Semper Fi Kids Camp to send local children of wounded Marines to summer camp for a week and be paired with a mentor for a year. We had 217 riders, lots of raffle prizes, folks who donated their cash winnings from their best poker hands back for the cause and a rocking good time. Thanks to all who made this event over the top (we did $4500 and 169 riders last year) Great community! Check out the pictures of this years Beach Bike Poker run. Fun, fun , fun.