The 2017 OC Fair, although now just a memory, is still very fresh in the minds and hearts of the 316 OCWS volunteers whose dedication and enthusiasm made this year’s Courtyard the most successful in OCWS history! With over 1,440 shifts worked at The Courtyard during the Fair, and thousands of hours spent behind the scenes before and after, this year found us smashing records from previous years. The Courtyard grossed the largest income in OCWS history.

The Orange County Fair & Event Center allowed us to partner with them to run both the Commercial and Home Wine Competitions and also gave us the opportunity to run The Courtyard. Income generated from The Courtyard has paid for both competitions and will cover OCWS’ overhead for the following year. Generous donations made by the general public contributed significantly to our Scholarship Fund.

Aside from The Courtyard requiring a lot of hard work and dedication, there’s always the fun factor. Here are some fun facts from this year:

• Varietal Wines Sold: 17,536 glasses
• Red & White Cellar Specials Sold: 9,302 glasses
• Champagne Splits Sold: 4,439 bottles
• Award Tastes Sold: 13,179
• GoVino Glasses Sold: 3,870
• The Express Bar: 5,977 transactions
• Top 4 pm to 9 pm shift transactions: Saturday, July 15, 1066 transactions within 5 hours, or 213 transaction per hour, or 4 per minute
• Largest credit card shift transactions: 4 pm to 8 pm, Saturday, August 12, 139 transactions within 4 hours, or 1 every 2 minutes
• Largest credit card shift: 4 pm to 8 pm, Wednesday, August 9, totaling $2,366
• Most shift transactions: 4 pm to 8 pm, Saturday, August 12, 447 transactions, or 1 every 31 seconds
• Largest Scholarship Donation Day: Saturday, July 15, $1,320 in donations

The success of The Courtyard is due in no small part to all OCWS volunteers who manned or maintained The Courtyard in any number of capacities, or by simply lending moral support. It took each and every one of our volunteers to make The Courtyard a success and provide the OCWS with a fabulous financial foundation going into the next year.

Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers!

– Fran Gitsham, Brian McDonald & Lloyd Corbett
The Courtyard Co-Chairs