Annual Friends BBQ and Open House at the SMVRR on August 17, 2024
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Friends members were invited to attend the annual OPEN HOUSE at Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s Osburn Yard on August 17th. It was an opportunity to visit the rail facility and learn about railroad operations. Attendees talked with train crewmen and saw demonstrations of track equipment. They were also treated to rides on the SMVRR 1449 rail car! There were exhibits, a video presentation and the beautiful winning photos of Friends Annual Photo Contest were on display.
The BBQ lunch of Tri Tip, chicken, green beans and bread was enjoyed by all and topped off with Belinda’s delicious Black Forest chocolate cake for dessert! All proceeds from the lunch and the mini Silent Auction went directly to the Betty Himoto Memorial Scholarship Fund. Together they raised over $2100!
Every attendee received a free raffle ticket upon entry. Lyubov Popovich won 2 tickets to the Friends Annual Dinner Gala and Eric Libby won a Friends Membership renewal at the Conductor level. Attendees were able to enter a free contest to win a SMVRR swag bag by making a guess at the number of rivets in a display container. For those of you still wondering, the actual number was 281! Jennifer Phillips was the winner with a guess of 265. Next year’s OPEN HOUSE will be on August 16, 2025.