"This was an extremely good Gala," said Diane Rusnak, Chair of The Health Foundation. "We had a very strong attendance with 400 guests and we had our strongest financial results ever, raising $42,500. We are very pleased with the results because Gala raised enough money to get us to our goal for the new ultrasound machine.
"Gala is a great evening," said Diane Rusnak, Chair of the Gala committee. "There are not a lot of opportunities in Yorkton to dress up, go out for a wonderful meal and dance to a live band. More and more we see people are looking for an opportunity to go out and have fun in a good atmosphere. Part of the Gala experience is the ambience, with the beautiful decorations and the little extras that you don't see at any other event. Gala is meant to be a special night out, and our committee works hard every year to create something special and memorable for our guests."
In 17 years A Gala Evening in Yorkton has raised just over $400,000, all of which has been used to purchase medical equipment for the Sunrise Health Region.
"We are only able to have strong results like this because of our sponsors and the businesses that donate items to our silent auction; and, of course, all the individuals who buy tickets to attend and bid on items in the silent auction. The Silent Auction is limited to 40 items that have a minimum retail value of $300; all the items are donated by generous members of the business community. This year approximately $12,400 was raised by the silent auction portion of the Gala.
As well we have sponsors that help directly with Gala:
Gala guests receive complimentary portraits and a temporary photography studio is set up in a room adjacent to the hall. Photography by Mitch is the annual Photography sponsor for Gala and once again did a fabulous job.
Bryce and Lorna Sherring of Sherring Gold Jewellers donated a lovely 14ct Italian gold bracelet with a value of $2,750 to be raffled off. The raffle for the bracelet raised an additional $2,340.
Stephanie Buckle of All About Flowers created fabulous centerpieces for each table. The centerpieces are works of art and All About Flowers donates this service to the Gala.
Kristen Weber-Karcha and her business Memories to Last a Lifetime donated much of the decorations including the chair covers that created a huge splash of colour and made wonderful first impression when guests walked into the hall.
Gala always has a live band, and this year the Crawdaddy's provided the music, and did a wonderful job of keeping people on the dance floor all night.
The Members of the Gala Evening in Las Vegas organizing committee are: Chair, Diane Rusnak, MaryAnn Trischuk, Carrie Powell, Sandra Ruff, Vange Vallaster, Maxine Woodward, Wendy Zaporosky, Bridgette Sekel, Bev Bielinski, Gail Krawetz, Ross Fisher and Debbie Blommaert.
