Residents of Unit 8A celebrated the Unit’s unbroken streak of Nine Years of Happy Hours at the “Nine was Fine—Let’s Get Together for a Good Time” event on March 14 in the Sol Ballroom. (Photo by Steve Weiss)
Janelle Authur
On March 14, 49 Unit 8Ar’s answered the call to “Let’s Get Together for a Good Time,” gathering in the Sol Ballroom for another milestone celebration. The milestone? The Unit’s unbroken streak of nine years of monthly Happy Hours!
In March 2016, Unit residents gathered at the Bistro for their first monthly Happy Hour. Those attending never imagined that they were starting a streak that would still be going nine years later, with residents finding creative ways to “keep the streak” through heat, cold, high winds, monsoons, snow, and even Covid. At the end of Year Three, the Unit added an annual celebration, marking another year of Happy Hours.
The Nine Years theme, “Nine Was Fine—Let’s Get Together for a Good Time,” was reflected in decorations and games. As they arrived, guests were directed to the “What’s Up with the Nines” guessing games table, decorated with a giant #9 balloon arrangement.
Each of the “What’s Up with the Nines” guessing games, designed by hosts Denise Doepke and Ginny Wise, was themed around the number “9.” Guests examined the displays, then took their best guess at the number of beads in 9 containers, holes in 9 pickle balls, colored dots on 9 golf balls, M & Ms in 9 ounces of candy, and teeth in 9 geckos.
During Happy Hour, guests socialized and reminisced over a replay of the slide show from the Seven Years of Happy Hours celebration in February 2023. After posing for the annual group picture, all joined their neighbors at dinner tables decorated by host Mary Jo Stastny with (of course!) 9s.
Host Janelle Authur welcomed guests with the annual “State of the Unit” review. Currently, there are 96 residents in the Unit’s 53 homes. Since the first residents moved in in late 2015, there have been 17 resales but, since some homes have sold twice, there are still 40 original homeowners. Residents are from 18 states, with California the most prevalent with 15 households.
During dinner, guests watched a slideshow of Unit activities from Year Nine. The music then went up and, as the “Celebration!” song played, Bingo game hosts Judie and Bob Townsend and Paul and Kate Thomsen danced into the ballroom, dressed in ’70s finery. As Paul drew “bingo” balls, Kate and Judie displayed colorful pictorial hints for the corresponding words. Players first had to puzzle out the word, then mark their cards. Steve Chapman won a gecko plant stake, created by Unit resident Jeff Wise. Janelle Authur won an original oil painting by Unit resident Ginny Wise.
The evening wrapped with the announcement of “What’s Up with the Nines” winners. Mark Warren, Stan Doepke, Jerry Wunder, Kim Stover, and Vicki Froistad each came closest to the correct answer without going over and won gift cards. Frank Sherfy and Diane Fox won the door prizes—a blanket embroidered with the Unit 8A logo and two tickets to a Ranch House concert, respectively.