All I can say is wow! This year’s dance and silent auction was a huge success thanks to your support and generous giving. I was blown away by the amount of fun and generosity displayed Saturday night by the one hundred and fifty or so members and guests that came out to support Ela Soccer Club. At one point I stepped back to take it all in and all I could see was the dance floor awash in bodies with fists pumping to Bon Jovi’s “Shot Through the Heart”. If only the kids could have seen us. So again thank you for your support.
Everyone has been asking how much money was raised. We have been tallying all the numbers since Sunday morning and after deducting all of the expenses it looks like we raised over $23,000! This includes raffle ticket sales, auction items and cash donations by companies and or individuals. We are still evaluating next year’s budget but early indicators make it clear we will need every bit of the money raised to help offset the club’s rising expenses, specifically for field maintenance, for the upcoming year.
Congratulations to our raffle and door prize winners. Jenny Stomberg was the lucky winner of the Wii donated by Best Buy in Deer Park and Lisa McNair was the lucky winner of the Ipod Touch donated by CPAP Filters and Supply. Lynne Bernardoni won (2) tickets to the Chicgao Fire vs. LA Galaxy Game. ESC hopes you enjoy them.
Acknowledgement needs to be given to the many people that worked so hard to make this event a success. First I would like to thank all of the travel teams’ parents that donated so many of the wonderfully creative baskets. A lot of time and effort went into these and it showed. I want to specifically thank Kelly Naughtrip, Frank Porto and Gary Wohler for their donor solicitation efforts. I also want to thank Jackie Marais and Jan Janus for volunteering to work the event while the rest of us enjoyed ourselves. Most importantly I want to especially thank Sandy Dickerhofe, Dina Wohler and Sherri Morell for the countless hours they put in soliciting donations, selling raffle tickets, putting together the gift bags, making the programs, putting together the picture presentation (with help from Steve Dickerhofe), assembling baskets and then finally looking after the various details during the event. The quality of the evening is a reflection of quality and dedication of these fine ladies.
I thank you all once again for your continued support. I am looking forward to a fun-filled, safe and successful 2008 season and to seeing everyone again at next year’s dance and silent auction.
Kindest Regards,
Steve Morell
President
Ela Soccer Club
