Well, we’ve seen just about every kind of weather over the last 10 years of the Pentathlon.  We’ve had +100 degree-days, we’ve had nights so cold we needed jackets.  But nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared us for what happened in 2000.  Friday was beautiful, everything was all set up early and we were ready to party.  Friday night the crowds came, the music played, the food cooked and the beer flowed.  All was good in the world.  And then things turned ugly.  We were awakened to the sound of a light rain on the tops of our tents.  No biggie we said, a passing shower to cool things off.  We were wrong, so very, very wrong.  All told, over 6 INCHES of rain fell on our little get together.  The rain not only damaged some of the equipment but it also was responsible for a much smaller crowd than what was expected.  In spite of the mud, in spite of the perpetual damp, soggy feeling, all the participants of the 2000 Choey Memorial Pentathlon played the games, bought raffle tickets and bid during the auction.  Not one complaint.  Not one person!  It would have been so easy for people to pack it in, go home, complain, whine, cry, bitch and moan.  Nothing.  A group of 150 people that made the best of an ugly situation.  Absolutely amazing.  We’ve been doing this for a lot of years now, and by far, no doubt about it; this was the most rewarding Pentathlon ever.  It is difficult watching a year’s worth of planning, building, and preparation wash away but the reaction from all of you made it all worthwhile.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Random thoughts from the Choey Memorial Pentathlon 2000:

                                    The rain

                                    Garbage bags

                                    Kegs holding tarps up

                                    Cars stuck in the mud

                                    Heff and Reilly under 1 umbrella

Beruit

                                    The Dutkus Family enjoying themselves, a lot.

                                    The “official” christening of the shed, thanks Pat and Kim!

                                    The rain

And then they competed.  The 2000 Choey Memorial Pentathlon didn’t have as many competitors as last year, however, 48 teams competing is still a whole lot of wet people still trying to have fun!  Back to the winners circle for Helmut and Kuch  This is their 4^th Championship in 5 years and they now stand alone as the most successful team in Pentathlon history.  It hurts, it really hurts.  Oh the days gone by when they would get drunk, fall down, pee on themselves and pass out by 8 pm.  Ah memories.  Joe and Melida returned this year after a 2-year layoff and ground Heidi and Mike’s march for a three-peat to a grinding halt.  No team has ever three-peated, something to think about Helmut and Kuch.  In the Women’s division, perennial bride’s maids Neila and Kristen shared the gold with relative new comers Stacey and Sue.

            And then the sun came, because it was SUNday.  Most people woke up waterlogged and decided enough was enough, but for those hearty few, we hit the river.  We hit the river HARD.  34 people, 3 ½ kegs, you do the math.  Certainly not the 95 people we had in ’99 but the seaweed wasn’t really missed either.

            Last year we told everyone we would address the issue of the BeerPong tournament.  Well, we did.  Everybody loved the new format and things have never run so smoothly.  It’s officially a keeper.  Greenie could actually talk the next day, not that anybody cared or anything.  The second issue was the problem of talking during the Auction.  We don’t know if everybody was more polite this year or maybe everybody was so cold and wet we only heard their teeth chattering.  Regardless, the Auction went well and we thank you all for you cooperation.

            Hey Beaner, you are officially a hump for not showing up AGAIN.

            Congrats to Art, he learned that running off an 8-foot ledge the night before the Pentathlon is bad, very bad.   

Last year saw Chris and Beth take the plunge, can’t really make fun of them, except it was about time Chris.

            Keith and Mary are going to marry in June while Liz and John tied the knot down in the islands in December.  Congrats to both couples!!!!!

            Kuch and Keri just announced they are expecting their second bundle of joy later this year.  Also, Renee and Gary are expecting their second child this spring.

            Well, we’ve been waiting a long time for these new additions to the Pentathlon family, and they were well worth the wait.  Kenny and Leslie had a baby boy, Danny, born on the Fourth of July.  Kenny and Judie (different Kenny’s, don’t worry) also had a boy, Riley, not to be confused with Pat Reilly, even though apparently they both need the same amount of attention.

The 2001 Pentathlon festivities will be the weekend of Friday July 20th, Saturday July 21st, and Sunday July 22nd.  This year’s festivities will be the weekend of Friday July 20th, Saturday July 21st, and Sunday July 22nd.

All are welcome to come up anytime on Friday to help set up and of course with all that hard work we’ll have food and adult beverages to quench that thirst and appetite!  Folks, get up there EARLY!!  Space is ALWAYS of a premium.  For those less than hearty souls, there are several local hotels in the area.  Check out the Pentathlon Website for hotels and phone numbers.  Make your reservations early because rooms go VERY QUICKLY during that time of year.

The events will remain the same.  The Early Session, which starts at 12:15, will have the following events: Golf, Badminton, Darts, Horseshoes, Foosball, and Wiffleball.  The Late Session, which starts at 3:30, will have the following events: Egg Throw, Keg Throw, and Relay Race.  The Raffle will start at 5:30 and the Auction will start at 6:15.  BeerPong will start at 7:30.  We expanded parking on the property but if you must park on the street, please park on only 1 side of the street.  Hopefully this will keep the police away.

We are proud to say that we will be donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley again in 2001.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been a wonderful partner always sending help and participating in the whole weekend.  It’s been a great 4 years and we look forward to many more in the future.

Our goal for the 2000 Choey Memorial was to raise $3,850 for the Choey Memorial Scholarship Fund and $3,850 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley.  Every year, we are amazed by the generosity of everyone that comes to the Pentathlon.  This year was probably the most amazing yet.  With less than half of the expected people making it this year and the rain literally putting a damper on things, we didn’t think we would come close to our goal.  We were wrong again.  We raised a total of $8,000!!!!!!!  That’s $4,000 for the Joseph H. Kucher Scholarship Fund and $4,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley.

We usually are hesitant to set a goal for the next year because past results don’t guarantee future performance (hello NASDAQ 2000).  But, let’s throw a number out there and see who salutes.  Our goal for the 2001 Choey Memorial Pentathlon is to raise $4,400 for each charity, that is a total of $8,800.  This would be a 10% increase over last year’s amount.  The only way we will hit this goal is if 1) You compete, 2) You buy raffle tickets and win neat stuff, and 3) You bid on REALLY neat stuff at the auction.  And the only way you can do the last two is if we have NEAT STUFF to raffle and auction off.  So once again, if there is ANYTHING you can donate, let us know.

            The entry fee this year will be: $80.00/team pre-registered, $90.00/team day-of-registration.  In addition to the cost savings of pre-registration, if you pre-register before July 1, you will be given priority placement in the events of your choice.  Your entry fee includes all you can eat and drink from Friday morning to Sunday night, door prizes, the pig roast, and of course a Kuch original T-shirt. If you want to come up and not compete, a donation of $30.00/person will be required.  Of course there will be rafting on Sunday!  The charge will be an additional 25.00/person for the cost of the raft and life jackets.

            The raffle this year should again be even better than last year’s.  Raffle Tickets will be priced the same as last year: 1 Ticket-$5.00, 3 Tickets-$10.00, 7 Tickets-$20.00, or 10 Tickets-$25.00.  If anyone has anything to raffle off, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  Any and all gifts would be appreciated.  Please remember, this weekend has grown to what it is now because people have contributed their time and efforts.  We could use any and all help to continue to make this weekend even bigger and better than it has been.

            We will do the auction again this year.  Last year’s was a lot of fun and everyone certainly got into the spirit of it.  PLEASE, we need things to auction off.  If you can donate ANYTHING it would be greatly appreciated.

Jon Zanger will be playing again this year both Friday night and Saturday night (Barring Noah and his Ark showing up again).  Live music of your favorite songs from the 60’s though today.

Kuch is still reeling from last years shirt design.  If you have nothing better to do than make a grown man act more immature that his 2 year old daughter, call him up and ask about the shirt, he’ll love it.  Promise.  As we did last year, every competitor will receive a shirt for entering, but we will sell extra shirts (while supplies last) for $5.00/each.

If you need to get in touch with us during the year, please write us or feel free to call. We are always looking for new ideas to make the Choey Memorial Weekend bigger and better.  How you can reach us by mail:

Please check us out at WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/CHOEYMEMORIAL.  It is up and running and heck, we’re pretty proud of it.  Please let us know what you think about our Web Site or anything else about the Choey Memorial Pentathlon Weekend and feel free to contact us via the site.

Bring your friends and we’ll see you July 20, 21, and 22!!!!!!!!!!

Greenie, Kuch, Helmut, and MAC