18th Annual Hospice Wine Tasting & Auction great success

February 22^nd was a weekend for fun and sell out fund raising events on the Central Peninsula. It was the 18^th Annual Hospice of the Central Peninsula Winter Wine Tasting and Auction at the Kenai Senior Center that featured gourmet appetizers, dinner and dessert. “Every year this is a very exciting time for the community and that shows its generosity in not only purchasing tickets but in donating fabulous auction items. It was a beautiful event this year and exceeded everyone’s expectations,” said Sandra Kerns, Hospice of the Central Peninsula executive director. “We would like to extend a very special thank you to all of our Volunteers who have worked together to make this evening possible. We are extending to you the deepest appreciation from the Wine Committee and The Hospice Board of Directors,” added Kerns.

This year’s event also featured a special “Head or Tails” game as a result of a Napa Valley Hospice “Swap!” for a Napa Valley Wine Tour. According to board member Teri Birchfield, “This package was given to us from The Napa Valley Hospice as a swap. We put together an Alaskan Excursion and they put together a Napa Valley Wine tour. The idea was to benefit both hospices by offering something that would appeal to someone who wasn’t from the area. It was great fun and when the last head was standing Stephanie Queen was the lucky participant that will head to Napa,” reported Birchfield.

Hospice is a United Way agency and offers a variety of services, “We offer several different programs, we have the direct care program where we provide education and information and volunteer respite care to the home of someone near end of life. We follow the direct care program up with our bereavement program with support groups and one on one support as well as workshops, seminars and a lending library,” said Kerns. The 2014 Hospice of the Central Peninsula Board of Directors includes Reean Pitts, Jodi Hanson, Brooke Straume, Ruthann Truesdell, Paul Landen, Teri Birchfield and Judy Keck-Walsh. Learn more about the local Hospice on line at www.hospiceofthecentralpeninsula.com or call 907-2620453 or visit their office on the Kenai Spur Hwy in the AK Maxi Storage Mall.