Last night was simply amazing!  We had our first “joint operation” with our buddies from the Georgia Ghostbusters.  The Alabama Theatre in Birmingham hosted a screening of “Ghostbusters,” so you know we were going to do everything we could to have a presence there.  Holy smokes, it was better than I could’ve dreamed.

The theatre folks were sincerely the greatest people.  We got there around 4 p.m., and they had already set up two six-foot tables for us to use for silent auctions and our normal table wares.  They accommodated us in every way, and I have to personally thank Brant Beene (the GM) for everything.  Without him this wouldn’t have been the blowout that it was.

Everyone was going to try and be there around 5, and I wasn’t sure who all was coming.  Everyone slowly started to trickle in as we were setting up, and when it was over, we had more than 25 uniformed Ghostbusters roaming around the place.  We had the Hudsons’ big Slimer, and we had Chace’s Ecto-1G parked out front.  Just a massive turnout!  And to top it off, there were more than 500 people that showed up to see the movie!  Yowza!

When it was movie time, the Mighty Wurlitzer and Stuart (the organist) came up out of the floor playing away.  It was gorgeous!  Kevin, Bo and I were off to the side of the stage waiting.  When Stuart finished the first song, he announced us, and we walked out.  That place was packed!  I welcomed everyone and told a little about the AL and GA groups.

We left, and it was movie time!  Seeing “Ghostbusters” again on the big screen was simple awesome!  I hadn’t seen it in a theatre since its original release in 1984.  The crowd was into it.  And I mean INTO it.  They laughed, they sang along, cheered LOUDLY when both the Ecto and Winston appeared on-screen the first time and even quoted some of the most famous lines.  These folks were hardcore GB fans.

At the end, Bo, Jud, David and Sean came out covered in shaving cream (marshmallow).  They got a huge pop from the crowd!  We all posed for photos during the night, met a lot of folks that couldn’t believe there is such a large group like ours in the state and got a handful of new members.

I couldn’t have been happier if I tried.  My heart was so full of joy because this is what we’re about.  We’re about the charities and the communities, and a lot more people now know about us.

I have to personally thank Brian Shirley of GeekTyrant for coming out and covering this for his site.  This will be seen by untold thousands, if not more than a million people.  Also thanks so much to Chace, Mitchell, Jaime, Glenda, Liz and Steve for crossing state lines to be a part of this.  It’s our turn to come to Georgia, so name the time and place!

Photo galleries of last night’s GB-fest are here and here.

While the night couldn’t have been better, I have sad news this afternoon.  I had initially spoken with former GM Cecil Whitmire about our participation in the movie screening earlier in the summer.  It wasn’t until I talked to Brant a couple of weeks ago that I learned Cecil was very sick.  Last night, Dan (the historian in the lobby) told me Cecil was on his deathbed, and I’m sad to say he passed away this morning.

Please keep Cecil’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.  The Alabama Ghostbusters send our condolences.