The banquet room at The Virtues Golf Club was packed as people who traveled from as far as California came to celebrate Dave Longaberger’s Legacy at the fourth annual Dave Longaberger Legacy Dinner.
This is the fourth year that the Dresden Community Association has hosted the popular event which this year drew a crowd of 250 attendees, the maximum occupancy for the venue. Many who wanted to attend could not due to limited space, but many were able to watch/hear parts of the event through a live stream which reached 6.9 thousand views despite having poor reception for streaming.
The night began with basket signings by the Longaberger family. Many of the collectors brought multiple baskets for signatures which means that hundreds of baskets were signed during the night. The time that the family took to talk to each person, take selfies, and give hugs was priceless and really showed their character.
Miller’s Emporium, Smore Baskets, Humble Heart, and The Farm Table each had tables set up with a sampling of items from their Dresden stores for sale.
A buffet-style dinner was catered by the very polite and accommodating Virtues Golf Club. There was not an empty seat in the banquet room as long-time friends enjoyed each other’s company through the meal.
After dinner, the Longaberger Family took seats at the front of the room and the room grew quiet, waiting for stories about Dave Longaberger. They did not have to wait long as story after story drew a clearer picture of how funny, giving, caring, dedicated, passionate, motivated and inspiring Dave Longaberger was. A couple of stand-out stories depict the man Dave was perfectly. The first was one told by Dave’s brother Gary. The high school track was not able to be completed without $15,000. The school was having a hard time coming up with the money and word got to Dave. He approached John Larson, the High School Principal at the time, knowing what he planned to do and asked if John needed anything. The school track got brought up. Dave said, “I’ll give you the $15,000 if you promise not to tell anyone.” This happened in what Gary estimates was the late 60’s and he just found out about it recently.
Rachel Longaberger Stukey added another heartwarming story about her dad taking her with him to all of the different workers from the landscapers to the basket weavers and everything in between to tell each of them how their job was the most important job in the Longaberger Company. After praising each person in every department and explaining to them why their job was vital to the company, Rachel questioned her dad and wondered if he was being a little dishonest by telling everyone that their job was the most important. He simply stated, “well they are”. Dave understood how each and every person mattered and they all played a very important role in the company, a unique trait among people in such a powerful leadership role.
“I think that is what brings us all together after 20 years of him not being here. I think it is an amazing and magical bond and connection that we all have. I know dad would be so happy and proud, I know that I am”, Rachel said as she addressed the audience.
Tami Longaberger was next to speak. “I doubt that any of us will meet anyone else in our life that has had the impact on millions, literally millions and millions of people in a positive way.”
Prior to the dinner rumors were whirling around social media that there might be some kind of big announcement at the dinner. Tami did confirm some of those rumors. “We are here to celebrate the past but to dad, the past is no big deal, the future is. I know there’s a lot of people that have very high expectations about what might happen and what’s to come with Longaberger. I can assure you that Longaberger is not dead”, stated Tami to a delighted crowd.
Tami went on to explain that there is a gentleman who the family knows well, who used to sit on the Longaberger Company board who has put in a bid with the bankruptcy trustee for all of the intellectual property, molds, collections, and all things Longaberger including the name. She is expecting everything to be worked out within the next twelve months.
“When in fact that does go through, Rachel, I and the rest of the Longaberger family plan to be a part of the future and the next step of the Longaberger Company”, explained Tami.
The dinner raised about $4,750.00 for the Dresden Community Association according to DCA Treasurer Darron Delancey. Some of this was through a 50/50, a spontaneous auction of sketched building plans that Dave drew on a piece of cardboard which Tami donated to the DCA to auction off, and the silent auction items which concluded the evening.
The 2019 Dave Longaberger Legacy Dinner was an amazing example of how one man has made such a lasting impact on countless lives. Tami said it best, “It’s about your relationships, it’s about what Longaberger means to you but it’s also about what dad, Dave Longaberger, meant to all of us and every single person in this room had a very special relationship with him.”
