2024 SMS Winter Ball - Ways to Support

STRATTON MOUNTAIN SCHOOL’S

2024 WINTER BALL HONORING OUR COMMUNITY’S LEGACY OF GIVING

January 27, 2024 6:00 pm

WAYS TO SUPPORT

Hello On Saturday, January 27, 2024, the Stratton Mountain School community will host the annual SMS Winter Ball - our biggest fundraising event of the year. Funds raised from the Winter Ball are a crucial part of our school’s need-based financial aid program, and benefit more than 45 % of SMS families. This assistance enables promising student athletes to attend Stratton Mountain School and pursue their dreams in winter sports.

Your generous contributions are critical in helping our talented students pursue their dreams. By supporting this event, you contribute to the future success of young athletes and leaders. We have highlighted the many ways that you can support the 2024 SMS Winter Ball in this publication.

Thank you for being a crucial part of our efforts. We're eagerly anticipating your response as we prepare for the SMS Winter Ball. Your contribution matters, and we'd love to acknowledge your support in the event print materials. Please share your preferences with us by January 3.

We hope to see you this year at the 2024 Winter Ball - Honoring Our Community’s Legacy of Giving!

Warmly,

Kristine Koeppe SMS Community Winter Ball, Chair kakoeppe@mac.com

Deb Newson Stratton Mountain School Winter Ball, Event Director winterball@gosms.org

about us & the event Our Story

Community Event

Stratton Mountain School, located in the picturesque setting of southern Vermont's Green Mountains, is known for its commitment to excellence in education and sports. Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, SMS has a strong tradition of providing college-preparatory academics and students are accepted at top colleges and universities.

Additionally, SMS is a US Ski Team High Performance and Development Center and this designation underscores our role in shaping the future of young athletes in a variety of winter sports, including alpine, freeski, freestyle, nordic, and snowboarding. Many of our athletes go on to compete at the college, national, or international level.

Kathy Needell, former chair of the Winter Ball and past parent, inspired our theme this year Honoring Our Community’s Legacy of Giving.

While SMS is known for its commitment to excellence in education and athletics, a source of great pride for our community is that 75 SMS alumni have participated in the Olympic Games, and more than 100 have been named to national teams. This is a true testament to the school's commitment to excellence and providing worldclass coaching.

“The SMS Winter Ball is important to the greater Stratton community. It has been the gala event in Stratton for over 60 years. Community members look forward to attending the Winter Ball each year, contributing and being a part of something special.”

We want to convey our immense gratitude for the success of this extraordinary event. A special thank you goes to the larger Stratton community, whose steadfast support has been instrumental in guiding our student athletes toward their aspirations for more than half a century.

SMS student athletes receiving financial aid

45%

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball

ways to support 2024 SMS Winter Ball

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Sponsor the event. All sponsorship levels include a table at the Winter Ball with seats for you and nine guests. Sponsored tables may be donated to Stratton Mountain School to fill with young alumni, staff, or community members.

Place an ad in the SMS Winter Ball Program Book. Check out last year’s Winter Ball Program Book on the event website.

Sponsor the event. Choose from several levels of sponsorship.

Visit our Winter Ball event website to designate the sponsorship level and to process the payment. Contact Deb Newson to discuss sponsorship options.

Place an ad in the SMS Winter Ball Program Book.

Fill out the DIY SMS Winter Ball Program Book Ad Form to provide all information. Contact Deb Newson if you need assistance designing your advertisement or have questions about the SMS Winter Ball Program Book.

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Donate an item for the auction. We host a live auction on the evening of the event and a silent auction - online and in person. The live auction items will be featured on the event website, via email marketing campaigns, and on our social media channels before the event. Our silent auction will open for bidding in December.

Purchase a ticket for the event. The evening includes a catered dinner, open bar and live band. The cost of each Winter Ball ticket simply covers the expense of hosting the event. We hope you will find other ways to contribute to the event.

Donate an item to the auction. The options are endless.

Contact Kristine Koeppe to discuss options and make arrangements to donate an item or use the DIY form linked in this document.

Purchase a ticket for the event. This is an event not to be missed!

Tickets will be available on the event website in December. Please purchase prior to January 13, 2024.

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball

ways to support 2024 SMS Winter Ball

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Bid on the silent auction items online and the Silent Auction items at the event.

Bid on live auction items on the evening of the event or request to give your proxy to a friend, if you are unable to attend.

Bid on the amazing silent auction items online and at the event.

Bid on live auction items or designate a proxy for the evening.

The online silent auction items will open for bidding in December. To ensure our guests enjoy their evening, the silent auction online items will remain open for bidding until Sunday, January 28 at noon.

The live auction items will be auctioned off with a professional auctioneer, so get ready to raise your paddle!

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Participate in the Neeves Family Mosaic Match Cash Call to help fund specially chosen projects that enhance the experience for all student athletes.

Volunteer to help on one of the several Winter Ball committees - Auction, Event Venue, Gratitude, and Program Book.

Participate in the Neeves Family Mosaic Match Cash Call to help fund a need at SMS.

Please find the link to contribute on the auction event site or participate in the cash call on the evening of the event.

Volunteer for a committee to help prep for the event. Voted best way to meet new people at SMS!

Please fill out the volunteer form link on the event website to sign up for one of the committees. Contact Kristine or Deb for help in choosing a committee.

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball

scan qr codes Support the Winter Ball Today!

Donate an auction item to the SMS Winter Ball - Scan Here.

Deadline: Jan 3, 2024

Place an ad in the SMS Winter Ball Program Book - Scan Here.

Deadline: Jan 3, 2024

Visit the event site in December to sponsor the event, buy a ticket, bid on auction items, buy a raffle ticket or donate to the cash call.

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball

Scenes from ‘23

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball

We thank you in advance for your support of the SMS Winter Ball.

Contact Winter Ball, Chair Kristine Koeppe kakoeppe@mac.com 908.809.2991 Winter Ball, Event Director Deb Newson dnewson@gosms.org 802.770.0002

Committees Silent and Live Auction Kristine Koeppe Event Venue Nicole Robertson Program Book Vibeke Borgia Gratitude Rebecca Benyik

Stratton Mountain School 7 World Cup Circle Stratton Mountain, Vermont 802-297-1886 gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball winterball@gosms.org

Event website: gosms.org/sms-community-events/sms-winter-ball