Hundreds of local residents were treated to an unforgettable night of entertainment last weekend as the Lakeland Friends of Stars and the Bonnyville Royal Canadian Legion came together for the first ever Dancing Under the Stars Gala at the Centennial Centre's Field House.
The special year-in-the-making extravaganza saw residents of the Lakeland come together for a good cause, raising upwards of $100,000 for this year chosen charities – the Bonnyville Legion and Stars Air Ambulance.
Cathy Griffith, chair of the Lakeland Friends of Stars, said she was “absolutely delighted” with how the event panned out, stating it exceeded all her expectations.
“I thought the night went very, very well,” Griffith said. “We had two separate charities to honour, which of course made it a bit of a long program, but the people who I saw and spoke to seemed like they were having a great time, so we're very happy with how everything went.”
She added, “I think to have raised roughly $100,000 even with two or three other charity events happening in town (on the same night) is awesome. Of course, raising that much money is fantastic and it will go a long way to helping the Bonnyville legion, and it will help Stars, but I think the main focus of the night was about raising awareness, and bringing the Bonnyville Legion to the forefront of people's minds.”
According to Griffith, the gala had been “pretty much sold out” since last Christmas, with roughly 520 people in attendance to take in entertainment from co-masters of the ceremony Sharon Mallon and Danny Hooper, music from local singer Tiffany Dowhan, and a special medal presentation by members of the Bonnyville Legion.
Hooper hosted the night's live auction, which saw such items as a signed Hunter Hayes guitar, a 12-person skybox pass for a Keith Urban concert at Rexall place and a special VIP Hockey Experience rake in over $25,000 for charity, but it was the medal presentation that caught everyone's attention.
“The medal presentation we had I think was the highlight of the night without a doubt,” Griffith said, with members of the Bonnyville Legion tracking down the family of an individual whose medal had been on show at the local Legion building for a number of years. “To see the look on everybody's face when that medal was presented, and to see all of the legion members standing up, saluting and just being so proud to return that medal to the Jensen family, there's no amount of money you can put on that.”
She said the money raised would go towards helping the local Legion transition into their new building, giving members the ability to refurbish several areas of the old church they have inhabited on 51 St. as well as providing Stars Air Ambulance with much needed funds, enabling them to respond to as many emergency calls as possible.
“Eighty per cent of funding for Stars Air Ambulance in Alberta comes from people like us and fundraisers such as this, so it's absolutely vital that communities sort of band together for (a greater good,)” Griffith said. “Stars flew here 83 times last year, and since it costs roughly $6,000 per flight, it takes a lot of money to keep those helicopters in the air., so I'm delighted to be able to say we've done our part (here in Bonnyville.)”
Griffith believes the fundraiser went a long way to making the public aware of the importance of both Stars Air Ambulance and the Royal Canadian Legion, saying she had succeeded in achieving the goals she set for herself when organizing the event.
“Sometimes when you put on events like this, it's not all about the money, it's about moving your charity of choice forward in the community, and in that respect I think this gala was everything we hoped it would be, and more,” Griffith said. “We got the donations out of it, we got the story out of it and we got the fantastic feedback out of it. I had people coming up to me wanting to book their tables for next year's event, so you always know you've done your job when you hear and see (that sort of thing) happening.”
