The Aikens staff puts the "party" into "Christmas party"!

Last night, Pit and Julie were the proud hosts of a tradition that has gone on for nearly 20 years... the Aikens staff and volunteer Christmas party! Because of the massive construction efforts last season, we certainly had a lot more people than in the past! All told, over 60 people came to enjoy a night filled with song, laughter, and camaraderie! The evening started off with an exquisite prime rib dinner prepared with love by Chef Jimmy (now the proud owner of his own business... Upp Creations!). The dinner was followed up with a gift exchange. We were lucky enough to have Santa Claus drop by and help with the gift exchange game. Aikens threw in some bonus gifts mixed in with the rest of the gifts, and Megan (our chef from 2002-2004) and Turbo were lucky enough to each open up two bonus gifts apiece!!! The door prize of a portable DVD/TV combo went to Tamara, one of our cherished opening-week volunteers! We had a couple of special guests join us. One of them was our partner Rick from the Aviary Group, who flew in from Arizona just for the festivities! He was in Winnipeg less than 24 hours, but returned home with a whole lot of memories! During the speeches, he thanked all of our staff for helping turn our vision into reality. The other special guest was our guide Trevor... he drove over 7 hours from Ontario just to get to the party! He also had a thankyou speech, but this one was to thank his mom for giving him the gas money to make it all the way to Winnipeg! OTours, who does a fantastic job every summer of transporting our guests from the Winnipeg airport to the float base, generously donated a van and driver to ensure that everyone got home safely. Another successful Christmas party... and a great way to celebrate an excellent year at Aikens Lake.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who had a part in making 2006 such a success at Aikens Lake! By the end of the evening, everyone was already talking about how 2007 would prove to be even better one for Aikens, its staff, and its guests... and you got the sense that they weren't just saying that to be nice!