The 2012 McPherson
Beach Year in Review
Happy New Year!
In a continuing trend, the M.B.Y.I.R. comes to you again later than the
year before. Wait 3 or 4 more years and
this will be an early Valentine. Perhaps
that would be the most appropriate time as I’m sure nothing warms your heart
and fills you with love more than reading this annual gift from the
heavens. But I digress, on to the recap…
This year’s major addition to the Beach was the
expanded waterfall and slide added to the pool.
It took over a year to find a contractor to come out and do the job but
it was finally finished in late August. A new, more powerful pump was added for the
waterfall and the old pump was redirected to the slide. It was a long wait but it turned out
fantastic and was a popular spot during the End of Summer Party. Another addition this year was a custom poker
table for Mac’s Game Room complete with various Mac Beach logos and new chairs. Now my friends can lose to me while in total
comfort feeling like they’re at a classy casino!
Last year’s total of 72 tons of sand added to the
Beach was matched again this year. The
majority of that sand went towards the continued improvement of the second
volleyball court and to the fire pit area which has been the latest focus of
the ‘dirt out/sand in’ process. 561 tons
of sand now make up Mac Beach. Sand was imported from 21 beaches this year
bringing the overall total to 333. Thanks to everyone who makes the effort to
bring back some sand from your beach vacations.
The Mac Beach Open was expanded to three tournaments
this year. Co-ed 4’s and King & Queen of the Beach in July and a new Remix 4’s in
Aug. Attendance in the Co-ed 4’s was
down as I picked a bad weekend but the other tournaments were at capacity. A record $1980 was raised over the three
tournaments for Camp Twin Lakes. The
MBVL had a fun, competitive year once again with 72 players participating.
Poker Night at Mac’s Game Room raised ~$2600 for
various charities in its 9th year.
Over $30K has now been donated as a result of PN@MGR poker tournaments. Everyone’s two favorite days of the year, the
Summer Kick Off and End of Summer parties, went off without hitch
Pictures on this year’s card include the aforementioned
waterfall & slide and poker table, trophies and t-shirt for the Mac Beach
Open, the pool at night, me & my lovely nieces, good, clean fun in the
Bamboo Lounge, the new & improved fire pit, cornhole
action, group photo from the Remix 4’s, and me being groped by some of my
friends … and myself?!?
My travels this year took me to Biloxi in January for
a poker tournament (again), Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, and spots in between
in February for a poker tournament and some beach time (again), Vegas in March
for a weekend at the swank Aria Resort & Casino, Fort Walton Beach in April
for the annual Fudpuckers volleyball tournament where
my team finally won a playoff game!! There was a massive celebration afterwards,
autograph signings, interviews with local press, etc. Well, maybe none of that happened and we may
have gotten smoked in the 2nd round of the playoffs but WE WON A
PLAYOFF GAME! I went back to Biloxi in
August for another poker tournament. I
attended the ACC Championship game in Charlotte in early December making it the
14th consecutive year I’ve seen Georgia Tech play football in a
different stadium. I visited Harrah’s in
Cherokee, NC for the first time on the way home from Charlotte. Finally, I spent a long weekend in the Fort
Lauderdale area two weeks ago sitting on the beach during the day and playing
cards at night.
Happy Holidays and see you at the Beach in 2013,
The McPherson Beach
Staff (a.k.a. Dave)
Stay hip to the Mac Beach scene at www.mcphersonbeach.com
