Dear Greenwood Community,
I woke up on the Sunday morning after the auction with a
huge amount of gratitude and appreciation for this wonderful community that we
have. The auction was a success on
every level; a profitable fundraiser for our school and a community gathering
where we could come together and have fun. The entire event would not have been possible without the
effort of so many in our community.
In the listing below, I am thanking all who made this happen – if I have
forgotten you or your friend or your spouse PLEASE let me know, it was an
oversight by a slightly frazzled, but incredibly relieved mother of two.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Auction
Team. They all gave hours of their
time to make this event a success.
Karen Burrous – does this woman know how to throw a party or
what? From food and drink to
getting the perfect ambiance to fit the theme. Karen does it all (with help from Bibi). She’s been doing the amazing auction
parties for years. We cannot thank
you enough. Thank-you, thank-you,
thank-you.
Tina Buoncristiani – coordinating class gifts is no easy
job, but you did it with aplomb and determination – thank-you.
Dawn Castelli – the online auction was TERRIFIC. Thanks for a second year of doing
that. You rock.
Joy Latimer – what can I say… working late night on the
catalog, you made me laugh until I cried.
You did great, very entertaining work, on such a tight schedule. Thanks.
Ali Long – for helping out with the morning muffins and trip
research, you were a great addition to the team.
Jen Jerde – the set up, the flow, the signage – all
wonderful. Thanks for jumping in
wherever you were needed. Your
work is appreciated more than you know.
Merel Kennedy – our formatting and layout guru, thank-you,
thank-you, thank-you.
Bibi Reber – for all your work on the party theme, décor, food and drink. Thank you so
much.
Patricia Rudd – thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. From getting donations, to filing gift
certificates, to trips and class gift write-ups; you’re the indispensable
Renaissance woman we could not do without.
Christina Schunemann – you truly did magical work, on so
many levels. Thank you AGAIN for
wonderful layout, with limited space and an abundance of items.
Karen Sullivan – this event could not have happened without
Karen…and I certainly could not have retained my sanity without her. She was responsible for so many areas
from organizing event volunteers and donations solicitations, to coordinating
check-out and last minute help with everything from bundt cakes to
slideshows. She did all this and
more with a smile and incredible energy.
Thank you so, so much.
In addition to the core Auction Team, many folks within the
community also contributed to make this happen:
Rob Constantine for coming in early and mixing some mean cocktails.
Lynn Chittick for her help on the Friday right before in sorting thru the gift certificate files.
And last, but not least by any measure, Claudia for her help during check out.
Betsy Anderson – thanks for the muffins in the morning as we
worked to get donations.
Karen Berg-Smith – thank you for volunteering to help out
with thank-you notes AND for getting our Larkspur donations. It’s really appreciated.
Danny Castor – you were there before, during and after the
event, working the entire time….if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were
after the job of Auction Chair, let’s talk.
Chance Claxton – thanks for your help at check-in, we loved
your top (who didn’t?).
Pat and Amanda Conran – thanks for your help with clean up –
EXTRA karma points to you both.
Taylor Fogelquist & Todd Osborn – you two were amazing,
jumping in at the last minute to get the visuals in place that we didn’t have.
Dan Fost – the online catalog was fantastic – thanks AGAIN
for your help AND for writing up the press release on the friezes AND for
getting the last bottle of Greenwood Naturals – we have special plans for that.
Linda Galasso – thanks for getting all those lucites
clean…it’s a dirty job, but…
Diana Glocker – thanks in advance for help with the thank-you
notes.
Catherine Gray – you jumped in and really helped out being
one of our Live Auction Spotters – thanks.
Sabine Hankte – thanks again for collecting donations. We really appreciate it.Adrian Lurssen – as always, wonderful job with the online
catalog.
Jeanne Marie Crowe and Don Daniels – it’s great to have you
both at set up AGAIN this year.
Emily Matthews – thanks for giving up your Saturday and
coming to set up.
Laura McFarland – thanks again for another year helping at
set up AND please thank your mother for those beautiful hand-knit baby clothes.
Rebecca Pieper – thanks AGAIN for working check out. You are now etched into my memory….for
what that’s worth.
Burr Purnell – your work on set up and picking up the Via
Diva Asian art and furniture was really, really appreciated.
Jane Purnell – thanks for you donation gathering and
greeting work – we love the glitter….and the humor. Never a dull moment when you are at the door, and I mean that in a good way.
David and Dylan Rivers – we really appreciate you bringing
your son to help with set up. You
both were a big help.
Sven and Aurora Schunemann – thanks to you AND your daughter
for the work you did during set up.
Aurora really dived in to help and was a joy to work with.
Angie Shaeffer – you helped out so much and your daughter
graduated last year – can we clone you?
Mary Shattenberg – thanks for heading up those monthly
development meetings AND for coordinating and shopping for our Asian Art pieces
AND trip research.
Lisa Smith – you’re an incredible spotter (loved that dress)
and thanks for the getting the desserts donated – we love “Nothing Bundt
Cakes”.
Rupert Stechman – you rocked the RAFFLE – thanks for being
here in the mornings and taking care of all that AND for help setting up AND
for supporting your wife Dawn while she set up the online auction.
Dion Sullivan – you helped us with set up, even after your
wife has worked like a maniac to make this auction a success. Thanks for your support of her and for
loaning her to the school for the last three months.
Sarah Taylor – thanks for helping at set up – it was great
to have you there.
Lisa Traveligni – you were great at check out. That gold number you had on rocked.
Roberto Varriale – we can’t thank you enough. Your work on the friezes (amazing),
your help creating the bid sheet clip boards (at the last minute) and schelping
to get the Via Diva items – thank-you a thousand times.
George Veh – AGAIN, you ran the check-in without a
hitch. You’re hired!
In addition to all these parents, the faculty was a huge
component, working check-out and clearing all the tables under the direction of
Karen Sullivan and Patty Wrench.
It was the smoothest check-out ever. Thanks to Roland Baril, Karina Haedo, Jolene Jackson, Jane
Johansen, Breton Nicholson, Peggy Rock, Dory Rindge, Vicki Seastrom, Douglas
Strubble. With special thanks to
Lily who worked behind the scenes with a determination that was inspiring,
especially after 10pm. We know our
faculty and staff all have lives and people outside of the Greenwood Community
and we are so grateful that you give of yourselves and your time to make this
event a success. For that,
and so much more, a very heartfelt thanks.
Along with the faculty, the office staff was an incredible
component of our auction team. The
entire staff was so gracious as Karen and I practically moved into the front
office, borrowed computers and monopolized the copy machine. Then there are very specific jobs they
each took on. Vicki helped at
check out. Gemma gave up most of
her office to store auction items, handled the RSVPs and was always patient in
getting our updates in the newsletter.
Patty worked until 10pm on Friday night to get the bid sheets out, in
addition to running check out and all the other work she did for us. To those of you that do not know Alejandro,
he is a ‘go to’ guy. He literally
did the heavy lifting when there was lots to move, and then he could jump in at
tech support, updating the website and helping with all things technical. Then there was Mary Meyers. She just started working at the school
and jumped whole heartedly into the mix.
She entered the lion’s share of the auction items into the system,
helped manage the corporate sponsorships, the website updates and pretty much
anything we asked her to do. And
of course, thank-you to Debra for her support and encouragement at every step
along the way.
If you are still reading this, I am impressed. At the risk of sounding like an awards acceptance
speech, I would like to thank my husband Carsten for his love and support
during these months. I am sure it
works to the advantage of the school to have the Finance Chair in bed with the
Auction Chair. And to Max and Remy
who went to aftercare a few more days than they would have liked, thanks for
hanging in there. And to Karen
Sullivan, in addition to all the hard work, she is an incredible friend.
Thanks EVERYONE,
Becky Sorensen
2012 Auction Chair
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