money at the event. Weeks later she is almost fully recovered. People
just kept giving us wonderful art, food, raffle prizes and money. We
started to really like this job.
As we worked up to the very moment of the
auction, people
continued to sell tickets and secure donations of art. On the Friday
before the event, we went to the AES Building to watch Jill hang the
art, fully appreciating what makes her a professional, and eat pizza.
We also did a run-through of the evening trying to work out all the
details and avoid any potential problems. At the end of that evening
we thought that we might pull off a great event. We all then went
home to fret about the next evening, what would we wear?
When we came back into the building, this
time not dressed as
vagrants, I think that we all basked in the beauty of what we had
done. There were flowers everywhere, gourmet food donated by
some of the best restaurants and caterers, beverage tables managed
by some of the best looking men in the world, dozens of silent auction
pieces placed on tables, and art covering the walls. Lana Cassel and
were in the front section of the building with lighting that made the
scene feel ethereal, and the bands were ready to play. When almost
600 people joined us, it seemed like magic. Mari-Lyn wanted to be
Cinderella but Eric wrestled her for the shoe and won.
We had all picked out the art that we wanted
but in the swirl of
events few of us had time to bid on anything. What took so many
months in planning and work passed by so quickly. We quickly forgot
about all of the hard work. What made the event so wonderful was to
look around the expanse of the building and see every conceivable
group represented.. They had all come out to support AID services
in our community. We thought of how far we had come from a tiny
group of people struggling to build a for persons with HIV to an
organization that now provides the full spectrum of support services
for people living with or concerned about this disease. What a brilliant
night it was for our community.
The next day we helped to clean the building
and talked abut the
article in The Beacon Journal that called the event the place to be
that evening. We were all getting phone calls complimenting us on
our success and asking if we would be doing it again next year. The
answer is that we will and Don Brown and Mike David will serve as
Co-Chairs. We're doing it for two reasons. First, the money we raised
we raised and the terrific publicity will further the cause of the
organization. Lastly, it was the most fun you could ever have working.
We want to thank everyone for helping with
the event and those
who attended and purchased art. It was a success because so many
people worked so hard and cared so much. And the lesson that we
learned from co-chairing this committee that we will share with you
is to make sure you go to the bathroom while people are discussing
who will serve as chairperson. You might get lucky enough to work
with a committee like ours.
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