SUN CITY – After a day full of socializing and snacking, Stingrays –and their sweethearts – took home one-of-a-kind gifts at the swimming club’s Valentine’s Day party.
A plethora of services and goods were offered, from bread baking lessons to electrical handiwork to homegrown tomatoes, in a live auction. Stingrays contributed their various talents and interests into the auction, and at the end of the day, $780 was raised.
Joanie (front) and Nick Koplos (left, back) lead
participants through the auction held during the Stingray’s Feb. 8 Valentine’s Day Party. (Victoria Diamond I Sun Day Photo)
The money will be split evenly between two recipients: the Grafton Food Pantry and Animal House Shelter.
At times during the Feb. 8 party, bidding reached a frantic pace. At the center of the action was Nick Koplos, husband of Stingray member Joanie Koplos. Doing his best impression of a quick-tongued auctioneer, he egged on the crowd to bid higher and give more.
“He’s the one who tries to control the crowd as they’re yelling out prices,” Joanie Koplos said.
Members got into the spirit of the holiday by donning their red Stingray shirts and bringing their significant others to the party. Joe Loughlin, who brought Carol Baffa to the party, was offering up one of the day’s most unique items: a custom-written limerick.
Joanie Koplos shows off a Stingrays jacket that was sold at the auction.(Victoria Diamond I Sun Day Photo)
A retired journalist who continues to write, Loughlin fell in love with the humorous form of poetry in high school. At last year’s party, he wrote a limerick for a bidder’s daughter and said he enjoys getting to know someone in the process.
“You have to kind of inter¬view the people to find out nicknames, funny things about them,” he said.
The chance to learn a new skill was a popular auction item, as offers like piano lessons by Stingray Inge Sedey were snatched up quickly.
The Stingrays enjoyed the chance to give back to the community and to a club that motivated them to take swimming to the next level. Like Sandy Sterling, several members swam be¬fore moving to Sun City, but did not try competition before the club. After building her skills with the Stingrays, Sterling now competes in freestyle events.
Ginny McAnn was swimming for leisure in the Fitness Center when she was spotted by a Stingray coach and asked to join the club. Since then, she has worked with four different coaches to develop her skills.
“Every one of them taught me something different,” she said.
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