Saturday night August 8th, the Eagles Club Aerie No. 274 hosted a charity benefit for the Clay County Humane Society. With live talent, a vivacious atmosphere and food that would make you slap your mama, the Eagles was the place to be Saturday night.

With door prizes, silent auctions and public auctions, visitors to the Eagles and members alike had the chance to bid on and go home with some very impressive merchandise. Businesses from Terre Haute, Brazil and surrounding areas donated merchandise and gift certificates for the various auctions and door prizes with all proceeds going to the Clay County Humane Society.

Parasols adorned the ceiling of the festively decorated club while each table was meticulously dressed up in tropical fair with individually hand placed tiny seashells in various colors greeting the eye as you entered. Glittering palm trees in brilliant shades of green and gold shone through the night with the help of twinkling lights. Lobsters and crabs in a net filled the wall with that island flair while two gorgeous large bookend parasols wrapped with twinkling lights festooned either end of the buffet area. All the decorating was compliments of a perfection driven team made up of various volunteers: Lisa White employee of the Eagles, Scott Griffin, an Eagles Trustee, Jessica Smith, the Eagles Entertainment Director along with members Jana Miller, Crystal Reitsma, George Bachelor Jr., Crystal Keller, Dave Myers and Dave Miller, President of the Eagles Aerie No. 274.

Roasted pork with various delectable side dishes and deserts brought in from members provided a veritable cornucopia of delights for the eyes and mouth. Fruity drinks in bright pineapple cups topped off with lei straws added to the sensual atmosphere of a perfect Hawaiian luau. All cups were kept full thanks to Mike Lovett and Anita Parker along with the entire Eagles' staff jumping in to help where it was needed as well.

Visitors and members came dressed in their best Hawaiian garb with the Club providing leis, hats and neon bracelets for purchase at very inexpensive prices again with all proceeds benefiting the Clay County Humane Society.

As people arrived and stayed throughout the night, they were enthralled with the one-man music performance by Travis Dylan. This young man impressed us all by adeptly performing complicated songs that even full bands struggle through with simply a guitar and harmonica. He was so personable and really held the spirit of the night. Before his performance, our DJ's for the night were Trustees Bill Vanes and Steve Boyd and they made sure to have only the best music for our listening pleasure. All three gentlemen made sure the dance floor stayed full.

With laughter and frivolity abounding, an impromptu conga line formed and moved around the club picking up new participants as it snaked its way around tables full of members. Smiles and friendship were the words for the night as we watched a DVD of animals available for adoption on the large flat screen TV.

I asked Scott Griffin, a Trustee of the Eagles, to tell me his experience of the night: "It was nice to see the community come together for a great cause. Even in these rough economic times, it was heartwarming to witness the generous and selfless spirit that shone through our members' hearts."

Both Griffin and Jessica Smith helped with the public auctions and the atmosphere was so festive that Ms. Smith lost her voice trying to be heard above the raucous laughter that emanated throughout the facility.

Thanks to large donations from a local business, the puppies and dogs at the Humane Shelter will not want for tasty treats to feast on for quite sometime. Coupled with the wild success of the benefit, the Humane Shelter can be assured of more comfortable financial times in the near future.

Jessica Smith, the Entertainment Director, handled the hard work of going door to door to various businesses personally. Her hard work resulted in table upon table of beautiful and very valuable baskets for the silent auction with each basket going for a wonderful price at the end of the night. Even my little boy Iain is now the proud owner of a palm tree cabana swimming pool!

There will be an official check signing and presentation to the Humane Shelter upcoming. Please check back for that. Also, in November, the Eagles Club will be having their annual food drive for the Food Pantry and anticipate a sizable donation for that as well. Please feel free to help out the Eagles in this effort and if you are interested in becoming a member, simply stop in at 122 E. National Ave., or call 448-8648 and their friendly staff will be happy to help you.

In this writer's opinion, if you are in need of a charitable benefit, you should contact the Eagles Aerie No. 274. This benefit was organized, lush and all the stops were pulled out to assure that this would be an event to be remembered and indeed it will.