Story and photos by Pat Krause

For more Pat Krause photos of this event, click here.

The 11^th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert Golf and Dinner Gala was held on Monday, Jan. 25. The golf tournament was played at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, Players Course at 44-500 Indian Wells Lane in Indian Wells, near Palm Springs, Calif. Registration started at 10 a.m. with a barbecue breakfast. The Tournament started at 11:30 a.m. It was a four-person scramble format with low net/low gross team prizes.

The dinner was held at the Esmeralda Renaissance Resort and Spa in the Crystal Ballroom. A cocktail event and silent auction started at 5 p.m. Dinner buffet began at 6 with several tables of salads, pasta and meats. A dessert bar was several feet long and looked so good, it made my mouth water.

Co-Chairmen for the event were Rich Warfield and Dr. Ed Stempler. Executive Director, Judy Rubin May started the program. President Jim Bruner introduced Julie Rethemeier. She traveled from Minnesota just for this dinner. She told of the Annexstad College Foundation in Minn.

Its founders, Al and Cathy Annexstad, came to the desert for a holiday and loved the area. They found out about the good work the Big Brother Big Sister group does here in the valley. They were so impressed that they donated $50,000 for a college fund to the local chapter. Judy May accepted this check with a huge smile.

2010 Honoree Ron Fairly was introduced by Jerry Jenko, who spoke of all Fairly’s accomplishments. Fairly is a two-time MLB All Star, played in four World Series games and is a USC Baseball Hall of Famer. He said Fairly was the oldest player at the age of 39. He played baseball for 21 seasons.

Former honorees included Johnny Bench, Amy Alcott, George Brett, Merlin Olson, Doug Sanders, Ken Venturi, Tom Flores, Don Sutton, and locals Johnny LuJack and Yogi Berra.

Bench, LuJack and Berra were present at the dinner. They whole-heartedly support this cause. LuJack donated an autographed football for the Live Auction, which sold for $3,500. Other items were sold at a live auction. Autographed bats by Berra and Bench were in the Silent Action.