The Olympian

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News

By Debora Lascelles
Contributing Writer

Nearly 100 people packed into the Cloverleaf Bar & Grill in Bremerton for a fundraising comedy show benefiting Olympic College staff members Friday night.
The Washington Public Employee Association sponsored the event. Approximately 100 campus employees are associated with the WPEA. The proceeds from the show go toward further education for OC union members.
This was the second year that the WPEA organized a comedy show at the Cloverleaf. Nearly everyone who attended the fundraiser last fall came back this year.
"It was so much fun last year that I came back again and it was a great night out. It's really nice to be out with people that you work with in a different atmosphere," said OC employee Mary Vincent.
WPEA was founded in 1956 and was one of the first unions in Washington state for higher education.
The mission of the WPEA is to help Washington public employees obtain equitable compensation and a quality work environment.
After nearly 50 years of being an independent union, WPEA members voted to affiliate with the United Food and Commercial Workers in 2003. The alliance between the unions brought together 1.4 million members with more than 50,000 in Washington.
Many people in attendance Friday commented that the fund raiser was the perfect excuse for a party.
"It's a great fund raiser. I've always believed that if we play together, working together is a lot easier," said WPEA member Karen Hemmerly.
At $10 a ticket, over 80 tickets were pre-sold while the remaining 20 were available at the door.
With the money raised from Friday night's show, OC workers have the opportunity to attend classes and workshops for free. However, due to the increasing costs of the facility rental and entertainment fees, profits were not expected to be as high as last year's show.
"Even though the costs to put on the show have gone up since last year, we decided to keep the ticket prices the same," said WPEA Job Representative Nancy Buck.
Entertaining the crowd was Debbie Wooten, a finalist in the Seattle Comedy Competition.
The audience rolled with laughter at Wooten's jokes dealing with sensitive issues such as sex, race and physical disabilities.
"I truly believe in the ministry of comedy and the spirit of laughter," said Wooten.
Wooten began performing stand-up comedy after she won a national Toastmaster's speaking contest in 1989. Her national win allowed her to open for the comedian Sinbad who encouraged her to continue her career.
Wooten's life has been filled with hardships and adversity, which she humorously addresses in her act. She makes wisecracks about dealing with poverty, abuse, racism, family suicide and her struggle with polio.
"My life is full of the three P's - plague, poverty and prejudice. I base my comedy on my life experiences," said Wooten.
In addition to her comedy routines, Wooten is a public speaker and holds many workshops, including Healing Adversity Through Humor.
Wooten, who lives in Tacoma, will be performing again at the Cloverleaf Bar & Grill on Friday.

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