2nd Annual Our Friend Dan Bash

2nd Annual Our Friend Dan Bash

We are currently looking for businesses and individuals to donate services, gift certificates, raffle items to auction/raffle off during the 2nd Annual Our Friend Dan Bash.


Where: Dunedin House of Beers, Dunedin FL 34698 

Date/Time: January 19, 2013 7:00pm - Close

Who: Our Friend Dan (In honor of Daniel Soyka and his fight against ALS)
Visit us at facebook.com/ofdsoyka and ourfrienddan.org

Come out and support Our Friend Dan in the fight against ALS and help raise awareness on January 19, 2013 at 7pm to close of business, at the Dunedin House of Beers.

All proceeds raised will go to Our Friend Dan to help pay for his medical equipment and expenses. Dan Soyka is a 34 year old newlywed, son, brother and dear friend to many.

Once a marathon runner, Dan is now running a race against ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease, a terminal illness currently without a cure) to live a life free from being defined by this disease.

Come help us support Dan in this race by drinking beer, listening to live music, and having a blast at Our Friend Dan's Bash.

Free admission, live music, a 50/50, food trucks, a photo booth and a variety of raffle prizes.

The Dunedin House of Beers will donate one dollar for every beer purchased from open to close the day of the event.

If you or someone you know is able to contribute to the Our Friend Dan fundraiser, please send us an email at Ourfrienddan@gmail.com or visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ofdsoyka

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND SUPPORT

Dan and Lisa at lst Annual Our Friend Dan Bash (Jan 2012)

Mom, Cam and Fam Meet Dan

This Blog post is written Dottie Butler - Lisa Soyka's Mother

My Husband Cam and Myself (Dottie)

 

When Lisa asked me to write about the first time Cam, her step-father, and I met Dan, we both had to really search our memory bank for specifics.  Of course as everyone knows it’s the memory that fails us first.    

But some things are very clear like it was only yesterday....

Me (Dottie) and My Beautiful Daughter Lisa on her Wedding Day

Lisa and I are very close and as she shared with me several failed relationships (no one to blame in particular, just not the right one) I suggested she go on Match.com.  I had known of several people who took that route and were successful in finding their mate.   As a veterinary professional working weekdays till 7 pm and the majority of Saturdays till 1:00, it is not that easy to find the time and energy to put forth in an effort to find the person that may be Mr. Right. 

So when I got a call from Lisa saying she got several responses from her profile, we were both excited.  We agreed to meet the following afternoon at the mall, shop and have a nice lunch where she would show me the responses.  

        

She had printed profile copies of the gentlemen she may possibly be interested in.  We had a fun lunch, talking and laughing as she showed me three profiles she was interested in meeting.  

This Man Dan Was Chosen!

 

It wasn’t more than a day or two when she called to say she was meeting the one that was her first pick, Dan.  After the first date she was like a teenager meeting her first love.  She went out with one other guy the next weekend, came home and said there was no chemistry and it was Dan she wanted to see.  All remaining profiles found the trash heap.

Things were progressing quickly, they were seeing each other more days (than not) in the weeks to come.  She was cheerful and seemed very happy.  Of course, as a mother I wanted to meet this man who brought a smile to her face.  We were eagerly looking forward to giving our approval of Dan.  Any concerns we may have had were put to rest immediately upon meeting him.

Dan and Lisa in N.Georgia

Within a couple weeks of their relationship we invited them up to our North Georgia mountain home for wine, appetizers, dinner, great scenic view of the Fall colors and of course great conversation and dessert.  

What a nice surprise when we met them at the door and Dan greeted me with a hug and a large bouquet of flowers.  We were also very pleased that he is an animal person since he had to deal with our Golden, Max, and our four cats.   Of course, with Lisa being a Veterinarian he would have no other choice but to love animals!  

Dan Loves Dogs :)

We found Dan to be considerate and polite and an intellectual.  He has a very strong personality, not one that would let a woman walk all over him and that was obviously a trait that attracted Lisa.   From a physical perspective I could see the attraction Lisa had with Dan.  My initial thoughts were yes, he is very handsome and with a well developed physique.  He obviously takes care of himself, works out and enjoys the outdoors as his tan made that apparent.  From all obvious appearances he seemed to be a picture of perfect health.    

 In less than a year he would begin having symptoms no one could explain..... 

After our initial meeting with Dan my sister, Linda, her husband, Duane and son, Brian came down as they always do every year for Thanksgiving.  They arrived the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and Sunday we all decided to head to Lisa’s in Marietta, GA.    

My sister and family, as well as myself, are all from Pennsylvania and huge Steeler fans.  Much to our liking, Dan is also from Pa. and a Steelers fan too!  I’m starting to wonder if there is any flaw to the guy, he’s perfect!  There was a huge game that night; the Steelers were playing the Chiefs.

 

We watched the game at Lisa and Dan’s favorite local bar, Mazzy’s.  To all our disappointment, the Chiefs kicked a 22- yard field goal with only 8:28 left in overtime and the Steelers lost 24-27!  Nevertheless, it was a good time.  We all went back to Lisa’s for a homemade lasagna dinner.

Dan and Lisa's Cousin Brian

My nephew has Down syndrome and the way Dan interacted with him was amazing.  Brian LOVED Dan.  He had to sit by Dan at dinner and was really excited when Dan taught him a special hand shake that they would end up doing about 100 times that night.   

Me (Dottie) and Daughter Lisa

As I mentioned earlier, Lisa has had many disappointments in the past but this man was different.  As a mom, I worry about her getting too involved too early but I felt 150% comfortable with Dan.  I had a certain intuition with this one, I can’t explain it but I knew this was something very special that would change Lisa’s life

And the love goes on...

This Blog Post is Written By Lisa Soyka

2008 Pic (I'm a Veterinarian)

I came into work that next day, tired but glowing.  My friend ( and office manager) Karen could tell right away that something amazing had happened.  As you will see in some of my future blogs, Karen is a true friend. Whenever I had downtime at work, she would call me into the office and we would talk.  We would talk about boys, family, previous boyfriends, work, kids, future plans, etc... nothing was off limits.  Needless to say, she saw Dan's match page about 100 times.  


Funny thing, I'm surprised Dan continued to want to see me since you are able to view who and when someone viewed your Match page.  I must have viewed it 257 times already.  

The next day I think she must have moved around my schedule for a little girl time because I had no appointments for the first hour.  

Right when I walked into work I was summoned to the office.  She can read me like a book and knew last night was life changing. 

This was it, my first and last date on Match.  Dan and I talked every day after that until our next date. It was October 1st. We went to a Braves game.  The Washington Nations may have won that night but it didn't matter to us.  It was a perfect night out- clear and cool.  We ate hot dogs and drank over priced beer.  After the game we took a cab home and hung out at his condo for a few hours.  






When we got back to his place, he asked if I wanted a tooth brush. I thought this was a weird question but said OK. 

Later that evening I found out why... Now, I respect myself enough to not give into a man until I know this is the real deal but I'm not gonna lie- there was a lot of making out.
Around 2 am, I had to leave even though every bit of me wanted to stay.  Again, I went into work tired but glowing!

Our third date was that next week.  I couldn't believe that I was so into this guy but he was into me too.... and I wasn't turned off by it!  


It was going to be Dan's first time at my house.  I cleaned ALL day and bought a big, beautiful yellow Mum plant for the front porch.

{{{I later found out from a family friend who is a psychologist that I was probably subliminally trying to influence him and showing him that I am domesticated.}}} 

For dinner he took me to Shoya Izakaya in Atlanta, this amazing Japanese restaurant out in the middle of no where.




When we were driving there, we took a wrong turn and ended up on a dead end road.  For a quick second I though this may be a mistake but when he started laughing I felt at ease.  

We ate the best sushi I have ever had and Dan had this drink, Shochu something or other... whatever it was Dan talked about it for days and even went to multiple international grocery stores looking for it. 

We talked about our passions in life, one of his was running.  I have always wanted to run a marathon. I was already inspired by his devotion and motivation in life but this was an added bonus! We talked for a couple hours during dinner and decided to hang out later that week. 


That very next day he told me that if everything between us continued to be going well, he would like to bring me to Florida to his best friends wedding to meet his family and friends in November over Thanksgiving weekend.  


Oh my gosh, are you serious!!! I am invited to meet the family! I had so many emotions running through my mind, emotions of excitement and anxiousness. After only 1 month of hanging out and he is asking me to fly to Florida with him to meet the family.... whats a girl to do? 

Dan & Lisa's First Date

This Blog Post is Written By:  Lisa Soyka

Lisa and Dan December 23, 2009

I suppose I should start from the beginning so here goes...

I promised myself a long time ago that I would never settle on anything if my heart wasn't in it 100%.  I am the only one in charge of my happiness so why would I cheat myself and settle for something that I didn't believe in.  After years of dating men younger, dating men older, dating men that are divorced, dating men that have children, it seemed what I believed in was starting to backfire.  I'm not getting any younger here, was I going to have to settle with a man that wasn't my soul mate?  So I took action and did what any sucessful, strong women would have done to find a man... I joined Match.com. 

This was something very weird for me, in the beginning I thought of myself as desperate and alone but after 2 weeks on the site, I got this short and to-the-point email from a guy.  If your not familiar with match.com, it is a dating website that sends you matches as a percentage everyday depending on your likes, your life style, ect.  

The email read " We are 92% compatible and that is something we shouldn't ignore.  - Dan".  I'm not sure what it was about that cheezy, one liner but I emailed him back and we decided to meet.  This was my very first blind date and I was so nervous! 

We met at Meehan's Irish pub in Atlanta September 22, 2009. 

He was already there, sitting at the bar.  I sent him a text to let him know I just got here.   He responded by saying he was the cute guy sitting at the bar in a white shirt.  Hmmmm, this guy is pretty confident I thought to myself.  When I approached him, he turned around and stood up, introduced himself, gave me a hug and asked what I wanted to drink.  

Oh my God, this guy is HOT! He wore a white polo collar shirt tucked into a pair of nice jeans and a pair of boat shoes.  His smile was childish and playful but sexy at the same time.  He definitely works out, it was very obviously by the way his shirt fit him.  He is the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on.  I ordered a Gin and Tonic, he was drinking Maker's.  We immediately started talking about anything and everything.  I couldn't believe how easy this guy was to talk to.  Dan was hilarious, his sense of humor and whit captivated me.

We left the bar area to go sit outside.  It was at one point that we were talking and drinking when all of a sudden, as I was in mid-sentence, he leaned over and kissed me.  

This is not our first date {9 mos later 6/1/10}...but you get the point :)  LOVE!

A few more drinks, kisses and a cockroach scare that ended with me screaming in front of everyone standing on top of a table   {{{Classic First Date right?}}}

I was in my car going home from the most amazing night I could have ever imagined.
 I just met my soul mate...

Next Bash in Progress

The Clams had a gathering last night {February 18, 2012} ..researching what the next Bash should be to raise awareness for ALS.  Here are the behind the scenes pictures from the "meeting"... Don't you wish this was how all board meetings were conducted? 

Hard at Work

Dixie, Victoria and Lisa

There is ALWAYS time for Laughs

Kaitlin and Juan

Lisa and Dan

Dan's Mom Lynn and Dixie

Much Needed Break

ART BASH

THANK YOU 

From Our Friend Dan

Our Friend Dan and his Crew would like to say THANK YOU for your support!  We had an amazing turn out at the Art Bash, January 28, 2012 at Dunedin House of Beer in Dunedin, FL.  

            

Many Thanks to Kelly's and Dunedin Brewery in Dunedin, FL for hanging our donated art for Silent Auction the month of January leading up to the Art Bash.

Here are some of the highlights of the event.  

The Beautiful Art donated for Silent Auction!

This special Art Piece was created/donated by a 13 year old girl.  Here are the lucky Winners with Dan's Amazing & Beautiful Wife Lisa Soyka!

Here are The Clams - Dan's hard working crew. Autumn's memorial picture is behind them. There was a loving to tribute to Dan's Sister Autumn during the event.  Without Autumn we wouldn't be so inspired to live our lives in hopes of inspiring others.

How AWESOME is our community and friends around the world? Look at Raffle Row FULL of donations from so many businesses, family and friends!!  THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

We had so many donations they will be hard to list on this page, here a few we would like to thank.....

A SPECIAL ***THANK YOU*** to Dunedin House of Beer for hosting our very first Our Friend Dan fundraiser and for their generous donation of $1 for 

every beer sold that night... lots of beer drinkers that night!

Tampa Bay Times - Put Art Bash on Front Page!

Thank You Katie Dolac from Dunedin Patch for covering our story

Thank you to Old Town Manor Key West, SeaCoast Airlines, Fury Water Adventures Key West, La Trattoria, Lazy Gecko, Danger Charters, Key West, and City view trolley tours For their Donations - It was our BIG PRIZE PACKAGE! Congratulations to Tiffany Fuller on the BIG WIN!!!

How awesome is this photography package!! That is one lucky winner of this package!!! Thank you Carrier Photography and Salon Island Estates!

Your Fondant Memories

This cake was donated and specially made by Your Fondant Memories.  Candice did a wonderful job incorporating The Clams and Pearls with Our Friend Dan Logo.  And the TASTE was so Delicious!!! THANK YOU Your Fondant Memories 

Crab Soup was another delicious treat! 

 

THANK YOU TO OUR TALENTED MUSICIANS!!!

Dan and Autumn's Parents - Dave & Lynn

Dan enjoyed himself - he stayed busy greeting everyone and handing out the raffle prizes.

Words can't express the heartfelt appreciation for all the support, donations and hard work everyone has put in to making this a successful Art Bash.  We are fighting ALS one bash at a time! 

For more information on Dan Soyka and his fight against ALS. 

Follow his crew on Twitter at @OurFriendDan or Our Friend Dan Facebook Page