By Larry Austin
Island Dispatch Editor
Three events at the Island Ship Center are now becoming popular autumn/winter get-togethers at the Grand Island's Spa of Shipping.
Fahim Mojawalla, who owns the Island Ship Center with his wife, Seema, reports that the third annual Celebration of Gratitude for the patrons at the Golden Age Center will take place on the last Wednesday in September (Sept. 26 this year).
"We started this event, Seema and I, and we wanted to thank our dearest guests who have provided us the most word of mouth for our business," said Fahim Mojawalla of the event.
The Island Ship Center invites the Golden Age Center up Whitehaven Road for games, such as Shipping Bingo, fun and music.
Shipping Bingo "gets them to know our services, and also we have prizes from our boutique," Mojawalla said. "And they look forward to it. It's just a great, great thing. And then the best part about it is that it's just a fun time for us to announce to them how thankful we are for them helping us to be in the community.
"We stay top of mind in the community, but that was a residual effect. The reality is that we truly wanted to thank them."
The feeling is mutual, as at a previous Celebration of Gratitude, the seniors serenaded the Mojawallas with a rendition of "This Land is Your Land."
The other two big events in the autumn at the Island Ship Center:
•Saturday, Nov. 24 - The third annual purse party, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which will coincide with Small Business Saturday. Those who text "Shipping" to 77948 join the text list and are eligible for a preview of the event.
Last year's purse party was a wild success.
"That day was my second busiest sales day of the year, next to my busiest shipping day," Mojawalla said. (The busiest day of 2017 being the Monday before Christmas.)
"#ShopSmall is not going away," Mojawalla insisted.
"Last year at our purse party, we had over 125 people show up in one day," Mojawalla said. "Yes. I counted."
•Saturday, Dec. 1 - The annual Support a Soldier event will return for its second edition. "We basically invite the entire community to help us pack and ship goodies to any active military stationed anywhere in the world that are from Grand Island," Mojawalla said. "And it was a phenomenal event last year, even though it was very short notice. So I think, this year, it'll just be great."
