Lorraine Howell, Holiday Auction Chair, recaps our annual December event, where a wonderful time was had by all:
Congratulations to AWC members and supporters for another successful holiday event and scholarship fund-raiser! The evening began with the silent auction, where attendees bid on a terrific array of baskets, art, event tickets and consumable treats. Following dinner, photographer/activist Amanda Koster inspired us with the story of her personal journey and the founding of her world-wide, storytelling project, SalaamGarage.
Then our intrepid auctioneer, Vanessa Gallant, assisted by Lorraine Howell, regaled the crowd with her descriptions of the wonderful items in our live auction. Laughs and generosity ensued!
We raised over $3,000 again this year. Thank you to everyone who came to the event and supported it. And thank you to our wonderful committee and contributors, including: Lauren Appa, Karen Campbell, Vanessa Gallant, Gloria Hatch, Candace Lee, Clare Parfitt, Allison Pascoe, Sharon Rockwood, Joni, Savage, Cathy Stevens and Nancy Wright.
I also want to give a special thanks to our friend and colleague Marilyn Farrell, who was not able to join Vanessa this year as auctioneer. However, her spirit was in the room and her beautiful note cards were made available to those donors in the “raise the paddle” portion of the auction. Thanks, Marilyn. We send you our best wishes.