Never agree to be auctioned off if you don't know the marketplace!

[shapeshifter]

Chamber apologizes to governor for auction
By Greg Hilburn

What was supposed to be a fund-raiser for the Monroe Chamber of Commerce turned into an embarrassment when the only bid for dinner with Gov. Kathleen Blanco at the governor’s mansion was $1.

Monroe Chamber of Commerce President Sue Edmunds called Blanco’s office this morning to apologize for the affront, which happened during the chamber’s annual fund-raising auction late last week.

“This was not a reflection of the chamber or the business community attitude toward the governor,” Edmunds said. “We’ve worked well with the governor and she has been extremely responsive to our community’s needs throughout her term.”

Edmunds said Monroe banker Malcolm Maddox, who bid the dollar, has since delivered a $1,000 check for the dinner and apologized to the chamber.

Maddox couldn’t be reached for comment.

The annual auction is the chamber’s top fund-raiser and generated about $57,000 this year aside from the dinner with Blanco.

 

[Avery]

Ah, yes! Monroe, Louisiana! It's a city of around 150,000 people in the heart of the Baptist Bible Belt. There's a town just outside Monroe (I can't recall the name), but it has a population of about 400 and I counted 10 churches when I drove through it!

Yet, in Monroe, you can go to a drive-in bar (Daiquiri Dan's, I think). It's just like a Tim Hortons drive-in - you drive up to the window, order an alcoholic beverage and drive away with it in your hand. In Louisiana, it's not illegal to drink while driving; it's just illegal to drive drunk (> 0.10%).

Maybe all the members stopped at Daiquiri Dan's on their way home from church instead of bidding on dinner with Gov. Blanco.

 

[DJLAW]

Ah, yes! Monroe, Louisiana! It's a city of around 150,000 people in the heart of the Baptist Bible Belt. There's a town just outside Monroe (I can't recall the name), but it has a population of about 400 and I counted 10 churches when I drove through it!

Yet, in Monroe, you can go to a drive-in bar (Daiquiri Dan's, I think). It's just like a Tim Hortons drive-in - you drive up to the window, order an alcoholic beverage and drive away with it in your hand. In Louisiana, it's not illegal to drink while driving; it's just illegal to drive drunk (> 0.10%).

Maybe all the members stopped at Daiquiri Dan's on their way home from church instead of bidding on dinner with Gov. Blanco.

that is awesome and fucked up at the same time. too cool.