14 January 2012

Gala Coming Up!

Greetings!

Not only do we have a concert coming up on February 4th at 5pm (great rehearsal today, by the way!), we also have the Gala Fundraiser Dinner coming up the following week, Saturday, Feb 11th, 2012, Doors open at 6pm, Dinner at 6:30pm.

Having sent a letter home today about the silent auction, and Gabby's mom having sent a letter home regarding the dinner & ticket sales, I am following up with this email.

The ticket sales contest has begun! The prize structure has slightly changed this year:

We are still doing the overall prize: $25 gift card to the top seller in each orchestra.

BUT NOW there are weekly prizes! Sell any tickets during the week and bring your money & you will get a candy bar at rehearsal PLUS the top weekly seller gets a king sized candy bar. 

This year we are also asking every family to come up with at least one silent auction item. To facilitate this, I have set up a spread sheet that can be accessed by anyone with this link & edited by anyone. If you think of a great idea (Oh, the ice cream shop down the street from your house, or your dad's old buddy's brother-in-law's business, for instance), please go to the spreadsheet and type in that you have contacted them. We don't want to have 10 people call the same ice cream shop or that guy's same business! That might be ... slightly ... annoying for them!

I have posted on the blog here the list of where the donations came from last year so you have an idea of who can be contacted, but bring your own ideas to the table! Tami Hunter said the best way to do this is to just get out the phone book and start calling -- of course, as long as you add what you've done to the Silent Auction Collaboration spreadsheet. It updates in real time! Very cool. Technology is amazing!

So, Sell Tickets and Procure Auction Items. If you are afraid of phone calls, there are also a few places you can request donations online -- but you'd have to do it right away. Most have a 4-week lead-time deadline. So far, online, I already did the Megaplex Theaters and sent a request to the Salt Lake Bees. For some reason I can't find the donation request form (was online in the past) for the Jazz... Maybe someone else can be that innovative.

Perhaps your family has a connection, or knows a piano tuner, or massage therapist... those types of services are also auction compatible. We've also auctioned off music lessons before! It's a great venue for that, I'd say! We've had handmade quilts and other handmade items. We've had gift cards from Olive Garden & a bird bath from Costco in the past. Oil changes are also nice - things we need and will buy anyway & may as well donate to the Symphony for!

Here is the link for the spreadsheet if one of the above links did not work:

One more thing. Here is a little blurb I typed into the Megaplex application -- I thought it might help you in your efforts:
The Lake Bonneville Symphonic Society sponsors three orchestras - two for the youth and one for adults: The Lincoln Youth Symphony, Lincoln Youth Chamber Orchestra and Lake Bonneville Community Symphony. Although home base is Brigham City, members of the orchestras come from Brigham City, Ogden, Logan, Tremonton, and surrounding areas. The annual Gala Fundraiser dinner has replaced shrinking grants as a major source of funding for this organization. After we have collected all items for the silent auction, we choose the best one for a raffle item. 

Thank you ahead of time for your support! I love the new Megaplex in Ogden. Very nice cinema!
 
And THANK YOU! for your support of this great organization. I think we will all have a greater appreciation for Tami Hunter this year as we each attempt to do a small fraction of what she did on her own before. She found that people were very kind and very supportive. I hope you all have the same experience.

Have a great week! 

Julie Gardner
Robert Bott

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