As I was in the garage to double-check the trunk of my car early Friday morning, making sure everything for the day's Patchiversary event at Caribou Coffee in Avon Commons was there, I heard an awful sound.

It was the sound of rain changing to something icy and hitting the siding of the house.

"Son of a biscuit!" I muttered. "No one's going to be there!"

Turns out I was wrong. In spite of the lousy weather early on, Patch followers came out, from my old Plain Dealer buddy Jim Strang to Maryjane Edgar from the Crushers Booster Club to Hope Christian Church minister Rolland Bryar to former Caribou manager Shannon Masters, who is now running Cafe 83 in North Ridgeville.

Maryjane was nice enough to bring one of our free coffees to Avon Clerk of Council, Ellen Young, as she was heading over to City Hall after coming to see me.

Ad manager Holly Barnes and I gave away 30 cups of coffee in two hours, more than a dozen people signed up to receive the free Avon Patch newsletter, and I believe we made some new friends along the way.

It showed, once again, that Avon Patch is all about Avon. You make us successful, you make me want to work for you. And I thank you.

I must also thank some others who made Friday's success possible, especially Shane, Ashley, Dawn, Ben and the rest of the Caribou staff who gave us a great location, poured a lot of coffee and helped us meet people.

There's one last little bit of unfinished business. Those who signed up for the newsletter had the chance to win a $25 gift card. And the winner is ... Josh Zucker! Congratulations, Josh! I'll be contacting you shortly to arrange getting you your prize.

If you missed Patchiversary, don't worry. I'm around Avon a lot, and am always up for meeting new friends. And Caribou is often my office away from home, so look for me there!