"Silver Rails Events Center Evening Gala" LaPlata, MO

The original invitation by Steve Grande said:

6:00 PM Central Time:

Silver Rails Event Center Evening Gala!

This will be the first Gala Event at the Silver Rails Event Center and will be held on the evening of its Grand Opening! This will be a suit and tie affair and will require the advance purchase of tickets, $15 per person to attend. Contact the hotel at 1-888-814-3669 to make your reservation and purchase tickets to this event. We expect seating to be limited to the first 400 that RSVP. Profits from ticket sales will go towards the Exhibition of Amtrak History. This Evening Gala is the ONLY fee event on this day. There is no charge to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies and walk-throughs of the Exhibition of Amtrak History and the Silver Rails Event Center held earlier the same day.

As it turned out, over 500 tickets were sold and those selling tickets said they could have sold another 500! So, the event was well advertised and supported with guests from North East Missouri and as far east as Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and Huntley, IL, and as far west as Orange County, California. One guest, Tony, came from Mexico!

There was a receiving line of the Founders of the Silver Rails Resort:

Thomas and Kelly Marshall, Stephen Grande, Barbara Cepinko, Ramond Burns, and Shivam Surve.

Other Attending Dignitaries were the rest of the Developmenbt Team: Harold Marshall, John Rhein, Maria Snodgrass, Ray Ivy, and Barry Howard.

Program Schedule

6:oo PM Social Hour

7:00 PM Welcome, Maria Snodgrass
                Table Grace, Rev. Harold Marshall
                Dinner

7:45 PM Introductiions, Maria Snodgrass
                Cake Cutting

8:05 PM Silver Rails Resort Presentation

Kathy Chinn
Larry Herron, Mayor, City of LaPlata
Thomas Marshall
Video Presentation      Barry Howard

Key Guest Speaker      Blaine Leutkemeyer
Invited Guest Speaker   Sen. William Stouffer
Invited Guest Speaker   Doyle Childers

9:00 Summing It Up Thomas Marshall

9:05 Dancing Music by Show-n-Off DJ Service

Photos of the First Event to be held at the Silver Rails Event Center, the Grand Opening Gala, 2/23/08.

(Remember: Click any photo in this report for a double-sized picture; Click BACK in your browser to return to this page.)

Reception line, Left to Right: Kelly Marshall, Ramond Burns, Shivam Surve, Barbara Cepinko, Stephen Grande,	Left, Steve Grande's sister, Shelli Tucker, who did a great job setting up the Amtrak Historical Display.
Kelly and Tom Marshall Silver Rails Resort Project Pinicpals	Barbara Cepinko and Steve Grande Silver Rails Resort Project Pinicpals

Steve Grande, Barbara Cepinko, Ray Burns, and Shivam Surve
Silver Rails Resort Project Pinicpals

Steve and Barbara with Barbara's parents.

The Snodgrasses Maria is the Manager of The Depot Inn & Suites in LaPlata.
Bob Williams, Photographer from Huntley, IL, had taken the Southwest Chief from Naperville, IL.	Yours Truly, Carl@TrainWeb.com, from Southern California, writer and photographer for TrainWeb.com. TrainWeb.org/carl "The First One To Dance on the New Events Center Dance Floor!"

Shivam Surve, wife and daughter. Daughter's comment: "I'm being good!"	Sally of the Depot Inn & Suites
Left, Bob and Mrs. Manning w/Ray Burns

Brock, front desk at the Depot Inn	Some of the items available during the social hour.

Maria Snodgrass, Depot Inn Manager, was a skillful M.C. and kept the speakers on time.	Rev. Harold Marshall gave the Table Grace.
Guests raved about the spinach and artichoke dips.

My personal favorite was 'The Other White Meat' pork loin.	It appears here, that there was plenty of food for everyone, but some guests got to the line to find all the meat had been consumed. Rumor has it that the Caterer was busy releasing tables and did not have any Buffet Police to limit seconds until all had received firsts.

	Principals and Invited Guests posed for pictures. Soon the Speakers took the stage.
All the Principals got 'a hand into cutting the cake.'

	Visionary Tom Marshall introduced Barry Howard.
Barry Howard designed the Silver Rails Resort and showed a Multi-Media presentation or virtual tour, to the audience.	As of this writing, the presentation is not yet online for you to view. However, Ray York has prepared an excellent PowerPoint Slide Show. See link below.

Silver Rails Resort:

Click Here to view the Silver Rails Resort PowerPoint Slide Show. Also, an excellent report about the Silver Rails Resort project can be found in Raymond York's La Plata Trip Report. These two new facilities are just the first steps in the building of the 160 acre Silver Rails Resort. A presentation about the entire project will be provided at the evening Gala and at some time during the day to be announced later.

Ray York (see paragraph above) center, Left: Carole Walker and right, Missouri Life magazine rep.	Amy Cox, blue top, of Show-n-Off Photography photogrpahed the full day's activities. Thanks to Amy for supplying some photos we missed.
	Bob Williams, Photographer, Hungley, IL


Former owner of the building that is now the Events Center dances the night away.

All that was left was to Dance the Night Away.

The evening was quite a Gala, some said it was the best they'd seen in La Plata. This ended my assignment to cover the day's events for TrainWeb.com. After this, my third visit to La Plata, I'm finding it even more inviting than my hometown in Southern Indiana. It's got to be that new friends can replace old friends. Not to worry, I was still excited to return to my wife and Sunny Southern California after these few days in Winter Wonderland, Missouri.

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La Plata, Missouri, Rail Events on February 23, 2008

Report and Photographs by Carl Morrison. Comments welcome at Carl@TrainWeb.com

Evening Gala

First Event at the New Silver Rails Resort Events Center

Photos of the First Event to be held at the Silver Rails Event Center, the Grand Opening Gala, 2/23/08.

All that was left was to Dance the Night Away.