When Work Meets Fun: Guide Dogs for the Blind's 7th Annual Support Our Canine Heroes Wine Gala

How many of you out there love your job? No? I can happily report that I do love my job. Quite a bit, actually. For those of you not in the know, I work in the Communications Department of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Duties: various and sundry. But suffice it to say, despite the inevitable politics, drama and The Office-like moments that are bound to accompany ANY job, heading off to "the miracle at San Rafael" every day is just not a tough thing to do.

Even luckier for me, my job sometimes actually intersects with my interests. This past weekend is one such example. It was GDB's 7th Annual Support Our Canine Heroes Wine Gala in Napa Valley, an event I've been involved with since Day 1, seven years ago; an event of which I'm actually very proud. My husband Randall and I were both on the original planning committee... more by default perhaps - we were Napa Valley residents and Ran worked in the wine industry - but regardless, I feel like I had a hand in shaping the event in its earliest stages, and watching it grow into the success that it is today is pretty darn gratifying.

My participation in the event decreases every year - by now there are several working committees, tons of volunteers, and many, many people more heavily involved in the planning and execution than I. But it's still one of my favorite projects to work on all year long, and perhaps the one event I look forward to attending because it's really a lot of fun.

This past weekend, we raised more than $425,000 - an impressive number, especially in this economy. Our donors, gratefully, are nothing if not loyal. Beyond that, I'm not going to write much about the event itself; if you'd like to know more please visit GDB's blog for the blow-by-blow (and it's good! Teaser: Captain Sully of the Hudson River landing fame gets a big surprise!). Rather, I'm just going to leave you with a photo essay of my weekend, as it is appropriate for this venue - and much is very appropriate, since the whole event revolves around food, wine and building community. Fare to Remember, indeed.

Enjoy.