The Guardsmen

These guys are seriously great! I volunteered with them a few times this past year and at first was a bit intimated, but turns out they really are just a group of great guys; super supportive, cohesive group of do-​gooders. Good peeps to get involved with!!!

They just did another great fundraiser — a bike ride in Marin about a week ago.
You can find out about their future events (and others) at
— a listing of charity benefits. Fun for a good cause! LOL

I thought I would send a special thanks to the Guardsmen for having their annual Christmas tree sale. I have written a similar review under the Guardsmen Christmas tree lot section.
I first heard of them through college friends that worked at a large corporation in San Francisco. Some of their colleagues were volunteers at the Guardsmen. Volunteer and charity work were viewly positively by the company and strongly encouraged. These guys take time out of their full-​time work schedules to assist with the many charitable functions. A requirement of the Christmas Tree annual sale is to work a minimum of 40 hours during the holiday season.
Haven’t purchase your Xmas tree yet? Looking for those one of a kind ornaments? Never fear, the Guardsmen are here. I sense a number of people make it a tradition every year for their Xmas tree purchase with the Guardsmen. They assist in the selection and shaping of the tree and tying it down to your car. It feels great to give to a charity at the same time too!
They carry a beautiful selection of wreaths and also carry a great selection of ornaments. While shopping, you may come across the Swiss Mountain Dog or the yellow lab who acts as the «welcoming committee». There is fun for the kids with a jumper and a slide too!
Thanks Guardsmen for making the holidays truly special!

paddle # 69? sure, i can handle it.
no, not an s&m event…
i attended the 32^nd annual guardsmen sf wine auction hosted at the westin st francis this year. it was an impulsive decision but i’ll throw money on any charity for kids or puppy dogs. this event was for the bay area youths.
the black tie gala was a nice excuse to dust off some of my parisian gowns. i loved the wine tasting event. some big names like bond, faust, peay, and seavey but i especially liked learning about the smaller family run vineyards such as maybach. i did wish that i could buy some right away!
however, i did win 2 silent auctions — a dunns ’93 cab and a kistler russian river pinot noir ’01. i definitely paid way more than the value but it was all ego at that point. i do NOT like to lose.
the sit down dinner menu was created by michael mina.
it was his well known ahi tuna tartare, filet mignon (mushroom ravioli for veggie peeps), and a chocolate molten cake.
emmanuel lemoine, the rep from the villa maria estate was super nice and and gave us better wines to drink than the table ones.
at the live auction, lot #13 was donated from an old boss of mine john varvatos. the package included vip party invites, dinner, fashion show, backstage access and clothes. i was happy to see him be a generous sponsor. he’s really nice and was one of my fav bosses.
some things they could improve for next year are:
1. number the tables please. 5 people there could not tell me where table 39 was.
2. frustrated and angry guy at check-​in was not happy to reseat me with my friends. i just smiled and said i would really appreciate not dining with strangers.
3. the workers did not pay attention to a bid my friends were making on a mexico trip. at over 12k, they were trying to bid higher but the emcee did not see them and they lost it.
4. bags pls! carrying 2 bottles of wine around town is not fun. concierge gave me plastic laundry bags (not elegant). a girl from michael mina gave me a restaurant bag — much better!
i skipped the band and dancing portion as my friends left and i was a lone ranger. so no comments on that.
so why 5 stars? i can’t knock an awesome charity group. it was a fun event and i’ll definitely support the boys in the future.

while i’ve never gotten into a bidding war at one of their ‘man’ auctions (you lucky girl, amanda!) i also *love* this charity. We always get our Christmas trees from them, and they have a great holiday bash. Great fun and feel-​good too!

I LOVE this charity. Last year, I was invited to a ‘man’ auction where young dames come and sign up for ‘silent’ auctions (another thing I love!) and proceed to have tons of drinks and then bid for men on the cat-​walk. So I grabbed three of my gals and away we went!!!
Sure — I thought it was the cheesiest thing in the world until they slammed 6 drinks in me and I got into a competition war bidding with another cat. Suddenly I got the eye of the tiger and landed myself into a big spending bind! I didn’t even care about the guy — I just wanted to win… funny.
Never went on a ‘date’ with the guy, and never wanted to — I don’t even recall his name but apparently I have gc for skydiving with my name written all over it… but I was really happy to know that my contribution goes to support 95% on the dollar to their program. I think I sent 4 or 5 kids to camp that night!
They have a ton of great events and I appreciate the economics of the charity in and of itself!