More than $15,000 for classroom grants was raised at this year’s South Whidbey Schools Foundation annual dinner and auction gala held May 21.
According to Foundation Treasurer John Riley, it was one of the most profitable fundraisers in the nonprofit’s 20-year history, over which time it has provided more than $250,000 to fund teacher-requested classroom grants.
Attendees were escorted into the event by “Leader in Me” vested students from Caryn Ploof’s fourth and fifth grade classes, where they viewed performances by the Langley Middle School Jazz Band and poolside demonstrations by the South Whidbey Academy Underwater Robotics Club. Fifth grade teacher Bruce Callahan and high school science teacher Greg Ballog were speakers, and parting remarks were given by graduating senior Sophia Stoughton, who has been the student representative to the Foundation for the past two years.
There were also displays of Foundation-funded projects, a thank-you to restaurants that participated in the “Dine Out Wednesdays for Schools” program, and another encouraging revitalization of the high school drama program.
The evening also included remarks from Island County Commissioner Helen Price-Johnson and South Whidbey business leader, Whidbey Telecom Co-CEO George Henny. The company adopted the “Leader in Me” project under the Foundation’s “Adopt-a-Grant” program.
Jim Freeman, South Whidbey’s “Conductor of Fun,” hosted the auction, extracting bids that exceeded face value for just about every one of the 18 live auction items, according to a recent new release. Auctioned items included overnight stays around Puget Sound, Mariners tickets, a signed Felix Hernandez jersey, and a Georgia Gerber otter sculpture.
District Superintendent Jo Moccia hosted the final event of the evening, a new game which gave participants a chance to win one of seven prizes, including the top prize of $1,000 in cash, by purchasing cards from a poker deck for $50 each. Following South Whidbey High School Parent Teacher Student Association President Shelly Ackerman’s lead from the past two years, this year’s $1,000 winner, Kay Wiley, donated her winnings back to the Foundation.
