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Volunteer honoured with trip of a lifetime

Violet goes to Vegas

Gibsons’ Violet Winegarden was whisked away to Las Vegas for the trip of a lifetime this month by a man who wanted to honour the 85 year old for her dedication to helping others.

Winegarden is best known for her non-profit shelter, Happy Cat Haven, through which she has rescued and found homes for in excess of 8,000 cats over the years. She received the Governor General’s Caring Canadian award for the effort in 2012, although she generally goes about her work without much praise or fanfare.

When long-time friend and supporter, 70-year-old Axel Gringmugh, read an obituary in Coast Reporter about another well-loved Gibsons woman, teacher June Wilson, who passed away in January, he felt the need to act.

“I wanted to do something to honour Violet while she was still alive. I didn’t want to wait to let her know how important she is,” Gringmugh said.

He decided a three week trip to Vegas to see the sights and take in the beauty of the area was in order, and on Feb. 4 the pair set off on a road trip to do just that, on Gringmugh’s dime.

Winegarden had “stellar” Happy Cat Haven volunteer Fran Bullock take over the shelter and Winegarden did her best to let go of the urge to call every few hours to see how her feline friends were doing.

After a two-day drive to Las Vegas, Winegarden and Gringmugh spent a little time at the slots before setting out to explore the many museums, hotel attractions and natural wonders in the area.

Gringmugh, who calls Las Vegas home and also owns property in Roberts Creek, was proud to show off the area to his long-time friend.

“I wanted to show her the other side of Las Vegas,” he noted.

Winegarden was impressed with everything she saw and experienced but especially loved the dancing water displays at the Bellagio Hotel and the amazing rock formations in the Valley of Fire.

“We went to the Valley of Fire twice and it is a really powerful place,” Winegarden said explaining the red rock formations seem to change as the sun moves overhead.

“There are some really extraordinary profiles and colours.”

She also took in multiple showings of the water dancing display at the Bellagio, noting the last one she saw “really knocked your socks off.”

Winegarden, being an animal lover, noticed and reached out to animals everywhere she went. She was particularly moved when she visited the V Animal Sanctuary in Las Vegas, which only takes in abused farm animals.

“It’s actually awful to see what humans have done to those animals,” Winegarden said, noting a goat she was particularly fond of was used to train dogs to fight before it made its way to the shelter.

While her time at the shelter reminded her of the ugliness in humans, it also shone a light on the goodness of those who help.

“We really need to focus on that goodness. We need more of that,” Winegarden said.

It was the goodness in Winegarden that made Gringmugh want to honour her with this trip, and he’s glad he had the opportunity to give back to the volunteer who has given so much of her life to helping animals in need.

Winegarden will be back on the Coast this weekend and said she’ll never forget her three-week Vegas vacation.

“Everything seems like it was a highlight to me. The whole thing was just so lovely,” Winegarden said.

“It was an unbelievable trip of a lifetime, and I’m really thankful to have been able to do it.”