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by Ronald Hebel
On Saturday night the PTA held their 15th Annual Dinner Auction at Albert’s Banquet Center in Belleville, IL. The theme for this year’s auction was “Groovy Funky Flashback”, with an evening filled with groovy & funky atmosphere. Several attendee’s were dressed in 60’s like clothing, with many others wearing peace necklaces, and the likes. It certainly had the atmosphere of a 60’s flashback, for me it brought back some fond memories of that era. Auctioneer Brad Schaller donated his time in calling the auction and Paul Konya donated his musical talent to entertain for the evening with righteous tunes.
As reported by auction co-chairperson Connie Kinder, the PTA cleared around $40,000 and had about 370 people in attendance, “We use this money for various things for the school district,” says Mrs. Kinder.” We would like to thank the supporters of the community and those who gave donations to make the night a great success”, concluded Mrs. Kinder.
There are a great number of things that the PTA provides monetary support from these proceeds for the district schools. Here is a list of several of the things they provide: snacks during ISAT’s testing, class field trips, playground equipment, spring carnival, security cameras, educational CVC’s, assemblies, classroom computers, holiday gifts, and many other areas, including $100 per year to each teacher for use as they wish in their classrooms.
The evening started with dinner provided by Fischer’s Restaurant while those attending looked through their auction booklet, charting out what they would like to bid on in the silent auction. There was seven sections to choose from, they were as follows: Home & Garden, Teachers’ Treasures, Kid’s Corner, Culinary Delights, Personal Perks, Sports & Leisure, and Super Silent. There were literally hundreds of items to bid on that catered to just about every taste. Also in the Oral Auction there were some 55 items to bid on, along with raffles and grab bag items. You would have been hard pressed not to find something of interest to bid on. This was a wonderful evening and a worthwhile event to support. As many of you know by now the State of Illinois is extremely late in payments to our schools, causing many districts to cutback in programs, teachers, and personel, and these funds will help alievate some of that strain.
I would like to close out my article with a re-print of a thank you that was printed in the auction booklet, for I think it is fitting place to end:
“On behalf of the 2010 PTA Auction Committee, we thank you for supporting tonight’s event. We appreciate the contributions of numerous individuals, generous business donors and our dedicated volunteers. The PTA is committed to providing supplies, programs and a wide variety of family-oriented events to supplement the educational curriculum. Without you, these things would not be possible. Especially in today’s economy, we truly thank you for your attendance and generosity. With Gratitude, Amy Brown, Connie Kinder & Babs Pfershy, 2010 Auction Co-chairs.”
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