B-I-N-G-O in the ’Hood

Last week, CV Weekly spotlighted several bingo games that are taking place in town. The La Crescenta Woman’s Club, the Glendale Quilt Guild, the Crescenta Valley Columbus Club and the CV Chamber of Commerce are all inviting the community in for a good time, the chance to reconnect with friends … and possibly win some money.

CV Chamber’s bingo game is this Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Verdugo Hills Memorial Hall at 4011 La Crescenta Ave. in La Crescenta. The doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the first bingo game is at 6 p.m.

You might wonder why there are so many bingo games going on. The answer is simple: bingo is a great way to enjoy community time while raising needed funds for the organization that is hosting the bingo night.

I remember as a kid that our local church held bingo every single Friday night. My mom won enough money to buy a new refrigerator! I don’t know if the years passed and bingo lost its allure or folks forgot how much fun it is to play – I’m just thankful that bingo has returned.

As most of you know, I am president of the CV Chamber. We’ve planned a historic bingo night, meaning that between games players will learn some interesting facts about our Crescenta Valley.

The chamber has undergone some dynamic, but scary, changes these past few months. One way our board discovered the support of our community was in planning Saturday night’s bingo. We’ve raised some money by having folks and organizations sponsor games and more money will be raised through ticket and food sales.

We have some people who are making pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and there will also be other food available for purchase. The veterans will be on hand to oversee the games we look forward to filling up the Verdugo Hills Memorial Hall with players, armed with their daubers, eager to be the one to yell “Bingo!”

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On Friday, a woman died who was like my second mom. Elaine Mandel is the mother of my friend Amy and I’ve known her since I was 14. She attended functions at her daughter’s junior and senior high school, hired me at the temporary employment agency she worked at as manager and danced at my wedding. After having my first son and I was ready to get back to work, she hired me as a temporary employee, giving me the chance to work at some terrific places and learn some important skills.

I am lucky that I have some treasured memories of Elaine and will forever be grateful that she was in my life.