A great time was had by all at the Atrium Saturday, March 4, when Good Samaritans of Garland, Inc. hosted its annual murder mystery dinner. The organization is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary of feeding, helping and serving.
The murder mystery, called “Some Anniversary,” was written by Geoff Fulford. Character names like “Holden A. Grudge,” “Sue Flay,” “Alison Wonderland” and “Annette Curtain,” hinted that the story would be hilarious.
The story is centered around the murder of Clark Seville who’s hosting an anniversary party for he and his wife. The fun begins when the party guests begin to describe how Clark has wronged them throughout the years. And his offenses are not minor! He has often cheated on his wife, used friends’ and family members’ money to fund failed businesses, gambled away a fortune, caused his sister’s divorce and gotten his wife’s sister pregnant.
While the characters explain where they were when Clark was killed, the audience tries to figure out who committed the murder.
The following cast of characters made the event a fun and entertaining evening:
Clark Seville – Paul Mayer
Barbara Seville – Kimberly Lloyd
Dorothy White – Victoria Falls
Libby Odom – Sue Flay
John Wiseman – Eddie Bull
Beth Dattomo – Alison Wonderland
Tiffany LeMay – Annette Curtain
Bryan Bradford – Holden A. Grudge
Merrill Balanciere – Master of Ceremonies
Good Samaritans would like to thank Presenting Sponsor Epiroc. Thanks also to Victim Sponsor AECOM and Detective Sponsors Beau & Patricia Meyer, Melissa Killebrew and Goldman Sachs. Good Sam is also grateful to the many silent auction donors.
About Good Sam: Good Samaritans of Garland, “Good Sam”, was formed in 1983 from an alliance of several Garland faith communities with the intent to provide centrally located services for neighbors in need of assistance. In 2016, the board of directors elected to narrow Good Sam’s assistance to providing food with kindness and compassion to our hungry and food-insecure neighbors living in Garland, Rowlett, and Sachse.
Hunger and food-insecurity are closely related, but distinct, concepts. Hunger refers to a physical sensation of discomfort, while food-insecurity refers to a lack of available financial resources for food at the level of the household.
Many of Good Sam’s housed families are caregivers for elderly parents, raising grandchildren, disabled, or facing a family emergency or other unexpected life challenge. In many circumstances, assistance is temporary and extremely valuable in helping families move forward through a difficult time. Often, food assistance reduces anxiety and helps families from falling further into overwhelming need and hopelessness.
How Good Sam offers assistance is of highest priority. Good Sam’s staff and volunteers welcome all guests with kindness and respect, assuring our guests we are available to help them navigate through a difficult time with food and/or resource assistance. People are our #1 priority!