MUDFEST A SUCCESS!!!

Wow! Our Mudbug Fest fans are AMAZING!!! Over 130 of you braved the threats of severe thunderstorms to make an appearance at our 6th Annual Mudbug Fest (aka MUDFEST 2009)!!!
Thanks so much for coming out to HELP A KID & EAT A BUG and raise money for the
Collin County Children's Advocacy Center!

When the severe storms actually did hit, our guests cheerfully made their way indoors to continue having a great time ... even while we were being serenaded by the tornado sirens! We must say, this year's Mudbug Fest is one that will not soon be forgotten! Once the rain stopped, the band started back up, David started another batch of crawfish, and the fun continued outside again … We didn’t skip a beat!

This was the first year to raffle off prizes which were generously donated by many local businesses our guests. We raffled off almost $11k in prizes! Thanks so much to all the business and guests who donated such exciting and generous prizes. You can now see a list of the Raffle Prize Winners HERE.

Thanks also to all of our sponsors who made generous donations of cash and/or raffle prizes and helped boost excitement and money raised! You can link to many of their websites on previous post.

I know you are all anxious to find out how much money we raised for the Children's Advocacy Center. Drum roll please ..... We are VERY pleased to announce a grand total of $6301.49 in donations!! (And I’m told there are a few more checks on the way!) We were blown away by everyone's generosity this year. We had a decrease in attendance of 35% from last year (we believe mostly due to the weather) and yet we raised more money than EVER BEFORE!!! Many of you who couldn't attend this year, still showed your support by mailing in donations and raffle prizes!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Also, a great BIG THANKS goes out to all of you who volunteered your time and talents this year to pull off another successful fundraiser and great time! We really could not do it without you!

A few more notes-

Raffle Winners - If you were not present when your winning ticket was drawn, we will be getting your prizes out to you over the next week or so. Please feel free to contact Julie if you'll be in the area and would like to pick up your prize(s). Otherwise, it will be mailed or delivered to you.

T-Shirts - We still have a lot of t-shirts left! If you forgot to pick yours up or didn't make it out this year, but would like one, please email Julie and she'll get it to you.

Pictures - You can find pictures taken at the event HERE.

2009 Gala & Car Raffle Tickets - Tickets are still being sold for the CCCAC's big Gala on May 16th. If interested, check out the Gala website . You can also go to the site to purchase a raffle ticket and chance to win a new Lexus!

Thanks again for your support of our annual Mudbug Fest! You can tentatively mark your calendars for April 24th, 2010 as the date of the 7th Annual Mudbug Fest! We hope to see you there!

We'd love to hear from you. Your feedback will help us make next year's event even more successful. Please take a minute to complete the anonymous survey here:
Click Here to take survey

Thanks for making a difference!

Warm Regards,
Julie Holmer & David Rankin

WIN A CAR!!!

Participate in the Park Place Lexus Car Raffle benefiting

Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center!!

Your choice of three Lexus models and one year free gas
Available models are the RX Utility, ES Sedan, and IS Sport
$100 per ticket only 1,000 tickets sold!
Winning ticked drawn at random on May 16, 2009

Need NOT be present to win
Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, a 501c3 nonprofit, takes action to identify, protect, and improve the lives of abused and neglected children.
Since opening in January 1993, services have been offered to over 30,000 children and their non-offending family members.

Purchase tickets online at http://www.gala2009.com/carraffle.php

This just in ...

We have another great addition to the "Home Sweet Home" raffle!

Thanks Robin for donating this beautiful vase!

List of Raffle Items

We are very excited to share a list of the raffle items we have received so far! From VIP Wine Tastings and Golf to gift cards and a year of Flowers .... There's something for everyone!
Thanks to everyone who donated or helped to procure these prizes. If you would still like to contribute a prize, please just let us know! You can view a complete list by clicking the link below:

RAFFLE PRIZES

Get ready for some GOOD GRUB!

The menu for this year's Mudbug Fest hasn't changed ... but for those of you who are first-timers or would just like to work up your appetite for Saturday ... here's what's on the menu:

As always, there will be lots of good ole', made-from-scratch, home-cookin'!
In addition to spicy boiled crawfish, you can bring your appetites for:
Boiled potatoes & corn
Coleslaw
Tater salad
Red beans & rice (vegetarian)
Hot dogs
David's wildly popular smoked chicken
Old fashioned home-made ice cream
Grandma Rankin & Mrs. Craig's home-made treats
We'll also be serving lemonade, tea, beer & wine.

RRRRRRRaffle Items!!!!!

We are excited to announce a new event sponsor and donor of a wonderful raffle item!

Thanks to Elite Champion Gymnastics for donating

a birthday party for up to 35!

Elite is a fantastic new gym which recently opened in Plano off Summit Ave. Please take a few minutes to check out their website.

Feeling the Love!

A big thanks to the support of our company sponsors this year!

Aaron Nekuza of

The Diviney Group of Ebby Halliday

Annick Gunn of

Robin Gary's Creative Clay Studio

Proposal Prose LLC

CALLING ALL SPONSORS!

We are pleased to invite individuals and businesses to become sponsors at this year's Mudbug Fest.

Here's how it works:

Gold Sponsors - Donate $250 and your logo and website and/or phone number will be printed on this year's shirts.

Silver Sponsors - Donate $100 and your name or a tribute will be printed on shirts. (for example, "The David Rankin Family" or "David's Pizza")

Additionally, all sponsors will be given the opportunity to have their company information, coupons, business cards, promotional items, etc. included in bags given out to all guests.

Please request the Sponsor Agreement Form from mudbugfest@mindseyes.com to sign up.
The deadline is March 27th, 2009.

RAFFLE ITEMS WANTED!
In an effort to boost the amount of money we raise, this year we will be holding several raffles.

Raffle tickets can be purchased at the event for $5 a piece or $20 for 5 tickets.

We have already had several items donated and will be posting a list of some of the items up for raffle right here on the blog very soon. (so be sure to check back!)

We are encouraging all of our Mudbug Fest Friends to consider donating a raffle item or asking for a donation from a favorite business. We will provide a Raffle Donation Form to make this easy for you. Request one by sending an email to mudbugfest@mindseyes.com

As a reminder, Mind's Eye Solutions donates 100% of the cost of our annual event. That means that EVERY PENNY of the money you donate or spend on raffle tickets, goes directly to the Collin County Children's Advocacy Center and is tax-deductible!

Mark your calendars!

A date has been set for the 6th Annual Mudbug Fest!

It will be held on May 2nd, 2009.

We look forward to another family-friendly gathering and enjoying great food, drinks and live music while raising money for the
Collin County Children's Advocacy Center.




We are thrilled that Southern Drive has volunteered to donate their time and talent again this year!



We look forward to seeing you there and having another successful fundraiser!

Please check back periodically as we post more information here.