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FIRED UP FOR HOOK & LADDER – The Slider Café crew served up orders with all the bells and whistles last weekend, especially when diners left spare change and extra cash at the firefighters' boot stand. The donations plus a percentage of the over $1,000 in ticket receipts to benefit La Conner Hook & Ladder – prompted the kind of repeated noisy celebrations one would expect at an Irish Pub on St. Paddy's Day. But thanks to the Slider's team, goodwill was far more common here on Saturday and Sunday than finding four-leaf clovers. Exuding the caring and sharing spirit were, front row, from left: Kimberly Howell, Addie McLemore, and café owner Pat Ball; and back row, left to right: Sheryl Moses, Kelly Price, Skyler McKay, Levi Howell, and Brian Minch.
The Slider Café crew got its kicks out of passing the boot on behalf of La Conner Hook & Ladder last weekend.
Slider's diners were invited on Saturday and Sunday to toss spare change and extra dollars as donation into La Conner firefighter boots placed near the front counter.
When that happened, owner Pat Ball and his staff – all of whom wore tee-shirts bearing the Hook & Ladder logo,with a couple wearing superhero capes – enthusiastically rang bells, blew whistles and led cheers to acknowledge each donation.
The hoopla caught some by surprise.
"They would usually ask what was going on," said server Addie McLemore. "And then they'd ask why I was wearing a cape."
The answer was simple, Ball said.
"It's our way of showing appreciation for everything the fire department does for the community," he said. "It's just a little thing we can do to show our support for them."
This was the second year Café staff have passed the boot to raise money for the Firefighters Association. In addition, Ball said 17% of the café's receipts on Saturday were earmarked for the fire department.
Over $1,000 was raised ahead of its annual St. Patrick's Day Dance fundraiser at Maple Hall that night.
La Conner Fire Chief Aaron Reinstra told the Weekly News that his department is grateful for The Slider Café contributions.
"We definitely want to say 'thank you' to Slider's for their support," said Reinstra. "But it doesn't really show how grateful we are or how amazing the family at Slider's is. We feel very blessed to have such amazing people in our community."
The Slider's fundraiser could not have been better timed. The mid-March weather was exceptional, with temperatures warm enough for outdoor dining. That drew plenty of folks, tables turned constantly and customers were drawn to the donation boots as they made their way to the café's till.
"They're all volunteers!" dining room manager Kimberly Howell stressed as donors reached into their wallets to help the cause.
Ball said the energy put into this fundraiser – with donations still being accepted Monday– was well worth the effort. And even merits a re-boot.
"This is something we'll do every year," he vowed. "And if we can squeeze another one in later this year, we'll do that."
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