Published: June 10, 2008 10:43 am      

CCYC gala nets about $32,000

Lindsay’s Centennial Hall was like paradise Friday night transformed into a tropical get-away for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cooke County fund-raiser gala.

Friday’s event included dinner, a live band, dancing and both silent and live auctions.

Events such as the gala are vital for the Boys and Girls Clubs which depends on funding from various sources including the Cooke County United Way.

Executive director Tricia West said she believes Friday’s fund-raiser earned about $32,000 for the center.

“We were very pleased. We did real well with everything including the auction,” she said. “People are very caring and willing to help.”

Board members sold over 350 tickets. Approximately 300 attended the event, she said.

Volunteers decorated tabletops with straw beach hats, leis, candles and inflatable balls.

Most guests stopped by the dessert table before dinner just to take a look at a display of dozens of bite-sized cupcakes decorated with frosting petals beneath a miniature palm tree.

CCYC board member Toni Hellman baked and decorated tiny chocolate and vanilla cakes for the dessert table, West said. She and two friends — Carrie Branson and Rachel Neu — all cake hobbyists used pastel-tinted frosting to turn the cakes into flowers.

The Boys and Girls Club has an average daily attendance of “a little over 400, including the Valley View center,” West said.

Summer is a busy time for the youth center.

The pool is open daily for members and summer activities are set to begin Wednesday after a couple days of staff training.

West said the fund-raiser helps keep programs such as the summer sessions running. It also helps pay some of the center’s operating expenses.

“Events like this one help keep the doors open,” she said.

United Way funds provide about 25 percent of the organization’s budget each year, West said.

A lot of credit for the fund-raiser’s success can be attributed to the organization’s board of directors, she said.

“They work really hard,” West said.

Auctioneer Herkey Biffle is also responsible, in large part, for the successful auction.

His upbeat style “encourages people to buy things,” West said, laughing.

Like others involved in the gala, Biffle volunteered his time for the event.

This was the fourth year for the fund-raising event, board president Tim Fogle said in an interview in May.

“The center is a good thing for a lot of the kids in the daily programs. It’s a good source of guidance and support. Talking with the kids and parents they have nothing but good things to say about the club,” Fogle said.