Over 400 people attended this year’s gala, making it a huge success.
Board President Mike Smith said, “The Foundation’s primary fundraiser is the annual Gala. We make it our only event so we that our supporters know we will be asking for their support only once a year. There are many worthy causes to give money to, and we want to be respectful of the constant pressure on businesses and individuals to give. That said, we are actively working to put in policies and procedures for receiving gifts through estate planning. There are people and trusts that are always looking for worthy causes to leave gifts to. We think the Foundation would be a good option, so we are working to put in a system to be ready to receive those types of gifts. And of course we are open to receiving gifts of any amount from any person or entity at any time of year. This occasionally happens and donors have the option of requesting where the gift should be used, such as for fine arts, science programs, or career and technical education programs.” Over 400 people attended this year’s gala, making it a huge success. Perini Ranch in Abilene catered the
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event providing prime rib with all the fixings and bread pudding for dessert. Held in the Brownwood Airport hangar, Brownwood High alums Van Wilks, an internationally known “blues rock” guitarist, and Josh Smith provided outstanding entertainment. They played acoustic and electric blues for the “Louisiana Saturday Nights” theme. A core team from BEF helps facilitate approximately fifty volunteers who work throughout the year to organize the Gala. It will take a few weeks to get the final numbers, but the foundation is expecting a record revenue of $100,000 through sponsorships, donations and purchase of auction items. The Auction alone brought almost $30,000. The biggest bid item in the live auction was the Mini Blue Healer generating $5,000, which was donated by a current student at Brownwood High School who wanted to give back to the Foundation,. The Estes Park Stay brought in $2,800. On the silent auction, Ingram Concrete items totaled $2,100 and Toni McMillan's various items totaled $1,170.