More than 100 fun-loving BP volunteers crammed into the Senior Center event room Friday night, December 15, to celebrate preparedness, our prepared community, and, most important, one another. The potluck event featured a range of foods (lasagnas, meat stews, fried rice, cheese platters, salads), desserts (pumpkin pie, cupcakes, cookies), and beverages (seltzers, beers, wines, and White Claw!) and a White Elephant gift exchange wrangled by City Emergency Management Coordinator Anne LeSage that got a wee bit competitive with some intense stealing of emergency prep supplies. Like the food, the attire also varied widely, the standouts being the Ozimeks: She was clad in a short Christmas sweater dress and he was wearing a baby blue snowman-patterned suit and tie.

Executive Director Loren Bast and LeSage briefly addressed the crowd, proudly throwing out some big numbers, including the more than 1,000 people on BP’s volunteer roster and the more than 7,830 hours recorded on event sign-in sheets in 2023 (actual volunteer hours number is much greater).

Featured photo shows Loren Bast and Anne LeSage addressing the attendees.