Community Thanks

BARTENDERS BALL: Hit it out of the park

The Coeur d Alene Casino once again graciously opened its doors to the annual Bartenders Ball, a fundraiser for local nonprofit Help Every Little Paw. The event committee felt last year’s change in venue was positive and look forward to the new home for the annual Bartenders Ball in the future years. With the free transportation option and discounted rooms for attendees, the change was a win-win for all.

The successful event, which showcases the best in the hospitality and service industry in the Inland Northwest, raised more than $30,000 in funds for the local nonprofit H.E.L.P. Help Every Little Paw. Founding organizers of the event, Holly and Karen Hansen with Windermere, were delighted to announce the pet food drive hit the past record out of the park with 2,755 pounds of food for local pets in need. 

“We are grateful to the 2024 Sponsors: Dean Opsal/Beam Suntory, Coeur d'Alene Casino, Comfort City Super Sleep Center, Andy Byrd/Willamette Valley Bank, Pioneer Title, American Leak Detection and Beauty Mafia. Our in-kind sponsors helped make the event a success: Ruby Frog Entertainment, Ron with Two Reeds Pro Audio/Video, Travis Bertram with TBD Productions, Holly and Karen at Windermere Cd’A Realty, and Super 1 Foods. Most of these sponsors have supported the event for years. Their sponsorship funds the event so 100% of the profits could go to the Help Every Little Paw mission!”

2024 competition among the participants with their specialty drinks and appetizers for the coveted title of Champion for 2024 was passionate! The judges and attendees had a difficult task of picking the top 3 in their category. H.E.L.P. appreciates each and every participant and hopes everyone will support these businesses throughout the year. Please see our Facebook page for this year’s award winners. 

The 12 participating bars and six caterers/restaurants are: 

Bars: Backwoods Bar, Bee's Knees Whiskey Bar, Capone's Pub & Grill, Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel, Crafted Tap House, Crickets Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Honey Eatery and Social Club, Silver Corner Bar, Moon Time, Stogies Whiskey Bar, Stormin Normin’s and Two Tones Cafe.

Food: Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel, Graze and Rose, Jerusalem, Melons, New York Pizza Dept and Oh Baby Food Truck.

We encourage you to buy locally from these generous local businesses who donated silent auctions and sponsorship: Aesthetica Skin & Beauty Bar, Ardent Law Firm, Arlon Rosenhoff Fine Art, Artist Cameron Davenport of Davenport Memorial Glass, Backwoods Bar, bankcda, Beam Suntory — Major Event Sponsor, Bearded Ginger, Beauty Mafia, Bee’s Knee’s Whiskey Bar, Big Boy Tattoo, Blue Chip Chiropractor, Bra’s on Dudes, Camfit Golf & Fitness, Capone’s Pub and Grill, Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre, Chloe Alexa Artist, Comfort City Sleep Center — Event Sponsor, Cool Nails, Crafted Tap House & Kitchen, Crickets Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Crime Scene Entertainment, Custom Den, Dale Miller, Dale Orth, Davenport Hotel, Dimestone Co., Doc Holly Pet Vet, Dusty Brim Hat Bar, Eleanor's Shoes — Holly Hansen, Entangled Hair, Furever Friends Pet Photo, GoodDog, Hagadone — Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises, Hagadone Marine, Heather Callahan Cribbage Board & Boxes, Holiday Inn at Triple Play, Holiday Inn on Seltice, Holly and Karen Hansen, Honey Eatery & Social Club, Horns Up BBQ, Inland Cafe & Tea, Janis Ian, Jitterz, Keilly & Blake Photo Co, Kellogg Pet Medical Center, Kimberly Mattern, Kroc Center, Lacey Green Photography, Lady of The Lake, Lake City Shoe Repair, Lindsey Tuckness Lmt, Margarita Man, Moontime, Mountain Water Window, North Idaho State Fair, North Idaho Embroidery, Northwest Pet Resort, Opsal Oil & Gas, Pokeworks, Row Adventures, Runge Furniture, Sculpt Studios Medical Spa, Seright's Ace Hardware, Shaver Farms, Silver Corner Bar, Silverwood Theme Park, Spokane Chiefs, Spokane Indians, Spokane Symphony, Squeaky's Car Wash, Staples, Stephanie Byrd, Stogies Cigar Lounge, Stormin' Normins Shipfaced Saloon, SunMed Northwest, Terraza Waterfront Grill, Texas Roadhouse, Thai Bamboo, Trevor Treller, Triple Play, Twin Lakes Village Golf Club, Two Tones Cafe Bonners Ferry, Umpqua Bank, Up North Cleaning and Western Insurance.

The event would not have been a success with the countless hours that our committee put in and each subcommittee’s volunteers. A special thank you to Committee: Jenna Ahearn, Brandie Binfield, Andy Byrd, Josie Coder, Lacie Griffin, Karen Hansen, Holly Hansen, Dawn Kelp, Isaac Loren, Forrest McLuskie and Kamile Vogler.

Event volunteers: DJ Montoya, DJ Bry, Sarah Burger, Michele Binfield, Jonathan Crowell, Annie Kaiser, Jenny Loren, Kristal Louden, Michele McCulough, Adam O’Keefe, Janet Rhodes, Jami Todd, Ben Williams and Tyler Zoesch.

Judges: Andy Bowman, Brian Buckholtz, Chance Watson, Jimmy Opsal and Jami Todd.

Help Every Little Paw is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and happiness of all pets. We achieve our goal to rescue those abandoned, stray or neglected, and to provide medical attention, spay and neuter programs, socialization rehabilitation and food to those in need through raising necessary funds.    

HOLLY and KAREN HANSEN

Windermere Cd'A Realty

HelpEveryLittlePaw.org

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WINE, STEIN & DINE: A great success

The Post Falls Education Foundation would like to thank the many businesses, individuals and more than 350 attendees who helped make the 27th annual Wine, Stein & Dine fundraiser such a success again this year. Thank you all for supporting our teachers and students of the Post Falls School District.

Proceeds will go directly toward funding over 120 grant requests that are submitted by the district teachers for special creative classroom materials and equipment. During the past 27 years, the foundation has now raised more than $795,000 for the Post Falls classrooms.

Thank you to our Major Sponsors: Mountain West Bank, Northwest Specialty Hospital, First Interstate Bank, Umpqua Bank, Ednetics and Architects West. Our Wine Tree Sponsors were Washington Trust Bank and bankcda, followed by sponsorships and support from Fatbeam, Rockhound Landscape, Post Falls Rotary, Medicine Man West Pharmacy, KXLY Radio Group, Nickelsworth, CdA Press, Fox Trailers, Acrisure, Midway Parts and Sixtwofour Graphic Design Studio. 

Our generous food vendors this year included Ekness Catering, Mangia Catering, Highlands Grill & Tap House, Westside Pizza Post Falls & Coeur d’Alene, Cake-Let Them Eat It, Post Falls Schools Nutrition Services, Rob’s Seafood and Burgers, and the White House Grill. 

Thank you to Bill Bozly and Friends for terrific music and photo booth Epic 360 Moments, along with beverage donors Odom Corporation, Hayden Beverage, Watson Distributing, Rosemary Manor Winery and Post Falls Brewing who provided more than 75 different varieties of wines, microbrews, seltzers and ciders to taste and enjoy. More than 60 businesses and individual donors contributed to the silent auction, and a crew of dozens of volunteers, who return each year, helped add to the event's success. Special thanks to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds staff for their help. Thank you all for supporting our students and teachers in Post Falls.

VALERIE WILCOX

Post Falls Education Foundation

Community Supporting Schools

27th Annual Wine, Stein & Dine