It was the most successful gala to date, with a sold out house and an evening packed with great entertainment, a tasty meal and plenty of excitement.
The Health Foundation recently held it's annual gala event and with a Vegas theme, transported those in attendance to an evening in the entertainment capital of the world - Las Vegas.
"This was an extremely good Gala," says 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.
"Anytime you can raise money and all the people making donations are having fun and enjoying themselves, then you must be doing something right."
With a record number of guests in attendance some people still had to be turned away from this year's event.
"We increased attendance this year because there were so many people who wanted to attend," adds Ross Fisher, Executive Director of the foundation. "But, we had to cut ticket sales off at 400; our guests like to dance and we have to leave room for a good sized dance floor."
The evening provides a once a year opportunity for an entertaining evening out while helping to better the community.
"Gala is great evening," says Rusnak. "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."
This year decorations were colourful, bright and reflected the Las Vegas theme.
"We had Rory Allen make a special guest appearance and perform a short supper show; we auctioned off a trip to Las Vegas and the band had people dancing all night. People had fun and at the same time helped us raise money for our local healthcare."
In the 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," says Fisher. "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, there are numerous sponsors that help directly with Gala:
Gala guests each receive complimentary portraits. A temporary photography studio is set up in a room adjacent to the hall with photography being provided by Mitch.
Bryce and Lorna Sherring of Sherring Gold Jewellers donated a 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 centerpieces for each table - all of which were donated for the occasion.
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 also features a live band, and this year the Crawdaddy's provided the music, 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.
Planning for next year's event will begin again in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more...
