Ramp It Up!

     If you have been following my posts at all, you will know that Joel's Place has been preparing for its annual fundraiser for a while now.  There were a million details floating around and they all came together this past weekend.  It went better than we had any right to expect; we had an incredible night this past Saturday.  The Ride Team was amazing: they helped with the setup, tear down, service and put together a tremendous video for the evening.  The food was exceptional.  The speakers were clear, yet personally involved.  The ask was simple and the program was short.  Everyone had a great evening and we raised over $35,000 for Joel's Place.
   
     There are a lot of people to thank, so I wanted to take this post to recognize as many of them as I could.  If you notice a name that should be on here, let me know.  (The great thing about the internet is that if I remember someone else later, I can simply come back and edit this file without anyone being the wiser.)

     Without further ado:

• First and foremost, Thank you to my staff.  I am specifically talking to you, Kelli.  There was room prep, printing, volunteer management and recruitment, and (most importantly) Centerpieces.  I wanted nothing to do with that.  Thanks everyone for helping this night to go off smoothly.
• Jameson Kapec and his team prepared our meal and it was delicious.  Everyone raved about how much they enjoyed the food.  Special thanks to Lavelle's Bistro for their assistance.
• Friends Church provided the location while The Works Catering provided the kitchen facilities.  Thank you for giving us a great space in which to host Ramp It Up.
• Rod Devore was our speaker from Rocketown in Nashville.  He was a font of information throughout the night and during the training leading up to the weekend.
• Speaking of Rod, Variety Motors provided him with a car and Pike's Waterfront gave him a room for his stay.
• BP and Airport Equipment Rentals were our Event Sponsors, allowing us to put on the event at all. 
• North Pole Coffee Roasters provided a complimentary coffee service.
• Andrea Johnson from The Works was a tremendous help on putting all the food service details together.
• Our Table Sponsors: The Setterbergs, R&D Environmental, Black Gold Express, Black Gold Oilfield Services, The Sadlers, Spartan Construction, Harvest Church, Cribs, Cradles and Things, Spirit of Alaska, MAC FCU, Northland Wood, Family Centered Services of AK., Henry Hedberg, SMRT Construction, Sauer Electric, Seekins Ford, Stanton Construction, Lifewater Engineering, The Meurlotts, RJG Accounting Services, The Johnsons.
• Jon Huff and AUP for running sound
• Rob Prince who shot and edited our video.
• Vince and Nick Meurlott who each gave a testimonial
• Jay Byam and his band, BroTalk, who played to open our evening.
• Our Board of Directors who helped promote and organize the event
• Lacey Shephard who volunteered a lot of hours to help this go smoothly

 Thank you to everyone involved.  We took our first steps into paying for this wonderful building and it was a great success.  



 
I am eager to see what happens next.