Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Volunteers wait to serve those arriving at the 14th annual A Time for Sharing Thanksgiving meal.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Not many open seats soon after noon.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Debbie and Jim Nennich pose under their A Time for Sharing banner, in between overseeing operations.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Santa Claus awaits the children.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Brandon Perrault provides the music
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
At least one diner came a long way for this meal. Wout, Kea, and Deborah Van Tellingen. Kea came to visit her son and daughter-in-law from The Netherlands.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Robert and Danna Lopez and Dean Bearup ready to serve up food.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Dean Bearup and Carmen Reese, volunteers for the Thanksgiving meal.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Gaffney-Ogelsby Marine Corps League Detachment 1328 volunteer. From left are Ben Collins, Frank Donohue, Shawn Wells and John Sterle.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Emy Burns and Tom Schalkofski make sure plenty of potato chips are in the bowl.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Wendy, Joshua and Derek Ratcliff cut the cakes and have plenty of pieces ready to eat.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
One of the eight full sheet cakes made for the meal.
W and N Enterprises holds annual A Time for Sharing dinner 111917
Rosemary Gutierrez poses while Betty Torres tries to get her attention
On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 19, 2017, the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center filled with hungry folks ready to partake of the food at the 14th annual A Time for Sharing, put on every year around Thanksgiving by Jim and Debbie Nennich and their W and N Enterprises.
With a new venue for the meal, people found it much easier to find a seat and the room was much less crowded.
According to Debbie Nennich, the room was jammed with folks from about 11:40 on, although they didn't start serving until noon.
"This year, we cooked 28 turkeys, 30 hams, 38 pans of stuffing, probably 700 pounds of potatoes, 1,200 rolls, eight full sheet cakes, four huge cobblers," Debbie Nennich told the Beat. "We also had tossed salad, fruit salad, cranberries, and homemade salsa."
The event drew more than 60 volunteers to help with serving, cleaning up empty plates and helping folks who needed help.
Debbie Nennich said she hoped she wasn't leaving out any of the groups that sent volunteers. They included the Gaffney-Oglesby Marine Corps League Detachment 1328, Beta Sigma Psi, Leavett Insurance, Alan Townsend Insurance, the St. Vincent di Paul confirmation group, firefighters from Whiskey Creek, Grant County Dispatch and the Walgreen's store manager Derek Ratcliff and his wife Wendy and their son Joshua."
She gave some history of the event. "The first year, 14 years ago, we had 450 people attend. Last year we had 1,500. We've probably already fed close to 1,000 already today. We set up 44 tables and 264 chairs. Because we have more room, we probably have 60 to 80 more chairs than we could fit in at the Knights of Columbus Hall (where it had been held in previous years)."