The Lutheran Family Services 22nd annual Innkeeper Dinner attracted a boisterous crowd on Tuesday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Colorado Springs.
Guests perused silent auction items dressed in tandem with this year’s theme: “Seeds of Good Deeds,” with many dressed in farm outfits and carrying pitchforks.
President and CEO Jim Barclay gave a rousing speech about how far LFS has come and expects to grow in the coming years. He touched upon the sobering statistics of Syrian refugees and the complexity of the process for any refugee group in the United States right now. LFS opens its doors and services to an incredible array of people who need assistance, and Natalia Renee Parker gave a heartfelt speech that underscored the importance of adoption and providing loving homes for children. She and her family opened their hearts to six adopted kids along with their own two.
Auctioneer Darrell Neu provided some tongue in cheek humor in squeaking out some extra dollars in the live auction. “You’ll never see a Wells Fargo truck following a hearse,” he said in urging guests to open their pocketbooks.
Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains literally provides life-saving services to those in need. Special areas of assistance include adoption and pregnancy counseling, older adult & caregiver services, foster care, prevention services, refugee & asylee programs and disaster response.
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- Stephanie and Roger Bowek, left, Nancy and George Davenport
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- Committee member Sandie and Don Trowbridge
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- Pastor John and Pat Bauer
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- Bonnie and Tom Clark
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- President and CEO Jim Barclay, left, with Bill Ayen (board member), Art and Laurel Thorstensen
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- Gary Gabrielson (committee), left, chats with Jim Barclay
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- Steve and Cheryl Mahon (committee), left, with LFS’s Jane Pope Meehan
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- Bob Keys, left, and Jack Anderson
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- Board member Karl Berg, left, LFS’s Jill Archer and Christine Berg
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- John and Betsy Plante (committee)
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- De Ette Murphy sports a very pretty hat
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- Jim and Gini Simonson (committee)
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- Mike and Joni Hamrick, left, with Suzy and Tad Taggart
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- Bill Ayen chats with Jane Pope Meehan
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- Cheryl and Bob Austermiller
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- Dorothy and Stephen Marlow, left, with Donna Skovgaard (committee)
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- Pastor Paul and Lois Peel
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- Travis Hearne, left, Roberta Burrington, Tracy Hearne and Vicki Anderson
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- Some of the silent auction goodies
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- Phyllis Luebke and Dick McGee
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- Gwen White, Foster Care Director at LFS
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- Rich and Jody Wilbur (committee), left, with Judy Hjelkrem
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- Rick Jenkins, left, chats with Gary Gabrielson
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- Joan and Daryl Skoog
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- Steve Mahon, left, Bob Curtis, Cheryl Mahon (committee)
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- Anne and Bob Sandall
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- Ken Boehm, left, Paula Nickodemus, Paul Lindsey, Debra Boehm
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- Dean Arnold, left, Lynn and Norm Peterson, Jim Barclay
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- Alan and Laura Goins
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- The crew from Saint Luke’s Church
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- Alison Ray, left, and Judith Ray
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- Jessica and Drew Schafer
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- Joni Hamrick chats with Bill Dieter
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- Bill and Dawn Dieter
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- Corey Miller, left, Lara Dyer, Pastor Joshua Hansen (board member)
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- Dorothy and Sandy Kraemer
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- Arlene and Ray Avischious, left, talk with Jim Barclay
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- LFS staff Becky Miller Updike, left, speaker Natalia Parker, Lisa Sauter and Melissa Bunt Stein (both also on staff at LFS)
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- Program Director Floyd and Tomika Preston
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- Respite care staff Madeleine Schmidt, left, Jennifer Ross, Isha Sumah and Becky Huyge
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- Emcee Jen Lennon did a great job again this year
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- Pastor Brauner gives the invocation
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- This wheelbarrow full of premium beers was a high ticket live auction item
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- President and CEO Jim Barclay greets guests
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- Jim Barclay gives a status report on LFS
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- Darrell Neu brought some good humor with him to the live auction
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- A quilt by Tabor Lutheran Church members was auctioned off
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- Natalia Renee Parker tells her story
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- Natalia Parker talks about her family
