It happened suddenly and unexpectedly.  A bit like that feeling where you knock over a wineglass and everything  happens in slow motion…you reach out to grab it only to push it a bit further as the liquid (yes, it’s red) slowly rises to the rim and projects towards your friend (or in this case, my husband) and at that point you know…it’s over. I mean ALL OVER the freshly pressed, crisp, new white shirt. If Woody Allen had tried to capture this on film, it would have required 1,000 takes and an entire day of shooting. And then the waiter comes by to ask my husband “is there anything I can possibly do for you right now”?

That’s exactly how my first two months on the job at Auction of Washington Wines has been.  Everything is moving quickly but it feels like slow motion. And to make it even more strange, everyone keeps asking, "Is there anything I can do for you right now?"

Fundraising is hard. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. As fundraisers we make calls daily and can hear the word “no” more in a day than my kids do in a week. But we do it because we believe in the cause and hope that the next call we make will be the one that changes the world and makes it a better place.

But this is different.  I’ve been WoW’d by the Washington wine industry. The calls I make are often met with “Great to hear from you! Welcome aboard!”, or “So glad you called. I’ve been waiting to hear from you. Let me know how I can help."

And I’ve been WoW’d by an amazing committee, whose members who take me under their wing and introduce me to rooms full of strangers and invite me into their home for meals with industry leaders. And who actually come to meetings and roll up their shirt sleeves.

The winemakers, operations managers, growers, tasting room managers, and numerous others have WoW’d me on a daily basis for the past two months. And I’m feeling a bit blessed to be a part of all this. If you didn't stop reading this blog entry a few moments ago and made it this far, then I hope you take away an understanding of the type of people in this industry that will be gathering for three days this August. We are working together to make a difference in our world through supporting Seattle Children’s and the Washington Wine Education Foundation, but we are also working together towards another common goal of showing the world that the wines of Washington are the WOW, in more ways than one.

To finish my story, was my husband mad? No, it was too perfect of a spill to be upset. He just grinned and dabbed the wine from his chin. Which I admired tremendously.

So consider this a personal invitation to join me in being WoW'd by the folks of this remarkable industry as we grin and dab our chins in August. 

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