CMYK Thursday, March 13, 2014
features
3B Family Connection benefits from fun night of picking purses, more plus dining and dancing
By Katie Griffin
klgriffin@clickthepaper.com
Humane Society gala is March 28 Fur Ball, a gala to benefit the Humane Society of Jackson County, will be held Friday, March 28, at the Braselton-Stover House. With dining, dancing, a floor show, auctions, raffles and prizes, the evening’s theme is The Great Catsby with a roar-r-ing 1920s attire encouraged. West Jackson Medicine Center is the presenting sponsor. The premier black tie (optional) gala, presented by the Humane Society of Jackson County, will feature a champagne reception with hors d’oervres, gourmet dining, dancing to a live jazz band, the Fly Cats, as well as silent auction, raffles and prizes. The bar will feature prohibition era cocktails. A vintage roaring 20’s car will be on the premises as well as a replica Georgia Mountain still set up with representatives from the Dawsonville Distillery on hand to demonstrate how a still works. The still is non-working, however. Commerce School of Dance and Jefferson Community Theatre Group will be presenting A Roaring 20’s Review. Tickets are $60 per person and are now available by calling the Humane Society at 706367-1111, visiting our web site, www.hsjc.com or directly accessing PayPal. Sponsorships are available through March 18. Check the web site for sponsorship levels or contact the Humane Society. Contact Margaret Lang at 813-404-4032 or Cheryl Iski @ www. hsjc.com. You can also call 706-367-1111, visit www.HSJC.com or email FurBall2014@windstream.net The Humane Society is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization, licensed by the State of Georgia Department of Agriculture to do rescue and fostering in Jackson County.
The Jackson County Family Connection held its first Ladies Night fundraiser in which purses and wallets and jewelry were on display for a silent auction. There was also a live auction featuring several designer purses. The purpose for the fundraiser was to help provide coats and heat to the needy children and families of Jackson County. The entertainment was provided by Peary Entertainment and the auctioneer was the one and only DJ -Tod. The highlight of the night was the three male models, who aided the auctioneer by carrying the purses from table to table and giving the occasional body shake if the crowd needed some added enthusiasm. “We had no idea what to expect from Ladies Night, but the outcome was awesome, raising $6,000 for the initiatives of Jackson County Family Connection,” said Linda Foster, executive director of Jackson County Family Connection. The event was catered by Tammy Griffin of Wellspring Camp. She outdid herself on serving up delicious sandwiches and the dessert table featured a chocolate fountain. The live auction began right after dinner as DJ-Tod introduced the purse models, the Duchess (Jeff Killip), the Church Lady (Joe Godfrey) and the Belly Dancer (Andy Garrison). The three models were excellent at drumming up bids and keeping the crowd laughing. There were Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Guess and many other designer purses that were sold at prices ranging from $80$250. Anytime the crowd would get quiet, DJ-Tod would request a shake and the models, especially the belly dancer, would start dancing and shaking and that got their attention.
“There was so much creativity that went into planning this event. The decorators and everyone who helped did such a great job, they really are talented people,” said board member Roxane Rose. After the live auction ended, there was a dance-off between the models. Each model had to pick a number between 1 and 10 and whichever song was assigned to that number on the DJ’s play list, the model had to dance for 20 seconds by himself and the best dancer won. Each model was allowed to pick a teacher to help them do a practice run so they would have an idea of how to dance to each song. Godfrey got a classical song so he was dancing and kicking around like a ballerina. Garrison got the pop song “Low” and did a surprisingly good job at getting low. Killip got the song “Cotton Eyed Joe” and grabbed his collar and belt buckle and kicked and did the do-si-do all over the place. The crowd got to pick the winner and they chose Godfrey’s ballerina performance the winner, which means that he has to come back next year and participate again. “When Linda asked me to help, I didn’t hesitate because I couldn’t think of a more worthwhile organization that takes care of its community,” said Andy Garrison, owner of The Garrison Company. After the dance-off, the crowd got to play some fun
Katie Griffin The Paper
Ladies from across the community gathered for an evening of fun and fundraising for Jackson County Family Connection. L: Purses, jewelry and more were auctioned. Bottom: Ladies strut their stuff on the dance floor. See more at ClickThePaper.com
dance floor games and then the DJ played some fun dance songs that everyone enjoyed. The silent auction closed out and each buyer left well pleased. “Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success, thank you to our sponsor, Funopolis, and to Tammy Griffin and all of the many volunteers who care about this community,” said Foster. This was the first fundraiser of this type and Family Connection is already planning next year’s event. The staff and
volunteers have heard nothing but positive comments about the event, especially about the three models. When Regina Longabaugh, owner of This & That Thrift Store in Hoschton, heard about the need for winter coats, she purchased hundreds of dollars of coats and jackets to be donated to Family Connection. For more information about Family Connection, contact Linda Foster at 706-367-3021 or visit www.jackson.gafcp.org or Like Jackson County Family Connection on Facebook.
Celebrate the Arts student art show is March 14-19 The Jackson County Arts Council will hold its second Celebrate the Arts countywide student art show at the Jefferson Civic Center from March 14-19. Art teachers from Jackson County, Commerce and Jefferson school systems will select art created by talented middle and high school students to be displayed at this free event which is open to the public. Private school students and home schoolers have also been invited to participate. At the Friday, March 14, opening reception held from 5:30-7:30 p.m.,
visitors will have a chance to view the drawings, paintings, sculptures and other student art plus enjoy entertainment from area schools. Awards for both middle and high school categories will be presented at 6:30 p.m. during Friday’s reception. “Given the quality and caliber of the art displayed last year, our judges will have a difficult time choosing their favorite works,” said JCAC president, Teddie Lohmeier. “However, we are fortunate to have an outstanding trio of jurors for this year’s exhibition.”
The judges are Sue Compton, owner of the House of Clay in Braselton; Par Ramey, watercolor artist and instructor from Athens; and Claudine Smith, owner of Our Town Antiques in Commerce. Compton taught art at Sugar Hill Christian Academy for more than years and now devotes her time to creating functional and sculptural clay pieces at her studio and shop in Braselton. If you drop by the House of Clay, you might find Compton throwing a pot, arranging the beautiful items she has for sale or teaching a class.
For The Paper
Last year’s Celebrate the Arts countywide student art show was the first sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council. At R, Teddie Lohmeier, president of the Jackson County Arts Council, displays two grant awards.
Also a retired teacher, Ramey is a watercolor artists, instructor and active advocate for the Arts. Her work has been shown in numerous shows throughout the southeast and she is a past president of the Visual Arts Guild of Athens and the Athens Art Association. While Ramey loves to paint, she is also involved in gardening and writing. She is currently writing a book based on pre-Civil War events in Athens, His Own Terms: Lyndon’s Uncle Peter. A native of Jackson County, Claudine Smith graduated from Jefferson High School and worked for Athens-Clarke County Government for 23 years. After retirement, she became interested in regional folk art and opened Our Town Antiques in Commerce. Smith has judged the student art competition for Art in the Park at Hurricane Shoals for the last two years and served as cochair for the 2014 Folk to Fine Arts Festival and Expo held March 7-9. For more information on Celebrate the Arts, call 706-757-3535.
Arts Council awarded two grants to support efforts The Jackson County Arts Council’s motto is “We promote, encourage and advocate for the Arts in Jackson County” and recently the council received two grants to support their efforts. The Jackson EMC Foundations awarded JCAC $1,000 to provide art supplies for the winners of the countywide, middle/high school art show, “Celebrate the Arts.” Student artists are chosen by their art instructors to participate in the show and it is designed to encourage and reward the talent and dedication of our community’s talented young people. The exhibition will be held at the Jefferson Civic Center from Friday, March 14, until Wednesday, March 19. The opening reception is from 5:30-7:30 and awards will be presented at 6:30. The reception and the exhibit are free and open to the public. In addition, the Cleveland Foundation sent a $400 grant in recognition of the work being done by JCAC. The grant was recommended by Megan Eckardt and donated by the Eckardt Family Fund. This money will be used to purchase two more professional display panels to be used for “Celebrate the Arts” and other art shows and festivals throughout the year. The JCAC’s members wish to sincerely thank both the Jackson EMC Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation for their support.