Glenna Gunn is a Center volunteer who acts as the money taker and verifier during our Bingo on Monday night and after lunch on Tuesday. She’s been doing this for about six years, just one year less than she’s lived in La Pine.
“My husband and I retired and we wanted to be closer to our daughter and grandchildren in Redmond,” says Glenna. “We had been living in McMinnville, but my husband is an avid fly-fisherman, and he’s fished the lakes around here for years, so we settled on La Pine.”
Before Glenna and her husband Randy retired, she was a registered nurse, “mostly delivering babies. That was when we were well staffed and things weren’t as crazy as they are now. Randy was a steel factory manager at Cascade Steel in McMinnville. We bought a house here and the rest is history.”
“I’ve played bingo my whole life,” says Glenna. “I really enjoy helping people out during bingo sessions, and it’s a job that’s very much needed at the Center. Our Tuesday group is right after lunch, but the Monday group is a fundraiser for the Center, and we have payouts of $300 and $500. Our Tuesday regular payouts are about $10 minimum. We make a good amount each month for the Center because of our Monday bingo, and it’s a much-needed revenue source. But Jamie also wants everyone to have fun, too, so the Tuesday group is more focused on just having a good time.”
The Monday bingo session runs from 4pm when the kitchen opens until about 9pm. Available for purchase are hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, all very reasonably priced.
You don’t have to be a member of the Center to play bingo here. Our New Year’s Eve bingo had a $1000 payout and the place was packed.
“I’ve made more friends and formed more close relationships since coming to La Pine, and the Activity Center, especially, than in my entire 35 year working career. I love seeing the same smiling people at bingo each week!”