The 2010 annual GFA Picnic was held on Saturday, September 11th at the Duncan's Lake Homeowner's Association Pavilion in Buford, Georgia. The event was hosted by Thom and Lara Bardugon.

Lunch was provided by a local barbeque restaurant, Old McDonald's Barbecue, and consisted of BBQ, Brunswick Stew, Baked Beans and Cole Slaw and more desserts than we could handle.

Here's what Buster Brown had to say:

Picnic Perfection!

Well, maybe it was a little too hot for perfection, but it was a great time. Thanks goes out to Thom and Lara Bardugon for hosting this year. It takes much time and effort to put it all together and Thom & Lara did it right. I'm sure there are many behind the scenes that I will miss, but here goes... Thanks to Brian Kurtzman's niece Rachel for manning the table for prints and posters& such. Thanks to Debbie Tennyson for spending most of her day handing out name tags and Darters. And speaking of Darters, thanks to Smokey for putting it all together and making the GFA magazine available at the picnic. Smokey too brought back a great tradition... the slingshot contest. If I remember correctly Joel Volpi smoked the crowd in the adult contest. Rick Benson came in second and Erich Worster was third. You think maybe Joel used his DECADES of experience to have the edge? Nice work Joel. We had 5 or 6 contestants for the kids contest and, again, Smokey made sure that no one went home empty handed.

On top of all their preparation for the event and the meal Thom and Lara also demonstrated a little creance work with their two intermewed birds. Thanks also to Zach Travers, Dennis Blanton and Bill Mixon who brought their birds. Perhaps the best part of the entire day came at the very beginning. Thom gave a sobering review of the events of Sept 11, 2001 and then Joey invited us all to join him in singing our National Anthem. I don't know about all of you, but I spent most of song staying silent while enjoying the singing talent of our president. Outstanding! None of it would have happened without Thom and Lara's planning and Joey's willingness to join in. Thom even made preparations with the tennis going on nearby and they were very respectful the entire time. We welcomed some new members too who came a long way to join us here in our great state. A good ole GA welcome to Kathy and Peter Gross who came down from Conn. a year ago and now live in Waleska.

One last thing, if you didn't get one of Jenny Leaderer's cupcakes... well you just missed out! Check out the picture of one of those beauties! I know I speak for the entire board when I say that we are proud to associate with the good folks of the GFA!

Buster