The 10th Anniversary Gala - A Fantastic Night!
Live vines, rain curtains, and candle-lit black olive trees transformed our gymnasium magically into a festive and fanciful party on August 28, 2010 for our first ever gala. Celebrating the first ten years of University High School, parents, trustees, faculty, students and community leaders came together to celebrate and raise funds to support University's mission and programs. Close to 300 guests enjoyed delicious food prepared by Chef Chris Liechti's Epicureans and danced the night away to the band Henle & the Loops - a local crowd favorite!
At the center of the evening were the presentations of the inaugural Trailblazer Awards to local community leaders, presented by University High School students. Tarik Abdou ('12) presented Scott Jones with the Commitment to Excellence Award, Rachel Hahn ('12) presented Charles E. Lanham with the Commitment to Mutual Respect, Support and Trust Award, Catie Young ('11) presented Angela Brown with the Commitment to Creativity Award, Stephen Sponseller ('11) presented Barry Collier with the Commitment to Personal Responsibility Award, Patrick Sanders ('12) presented Len Betley and the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation with the Commitment to Stewardship Award, and Morgan Wood ('13) presented Sue Anne Gilroy with the Commitment to Diversity Award. Also included in the program was a performance by the Crossover Quartet featuring our own faculty members, Damien Geter and Kip Robisch and a student performance by Kwame Newton and Steve Dobbs. A special thank you to Barbara Lewis for serving as our mistress of ceremonies.
We are grateful to our Gala Chair, Cassie Bluestein, and every member of the Gala committee. We also owe thanks to the parents and trustees who provided terrific silent auction items. Thank you, Cassie, for investing your time, energy and creativity to make our first ever gala unforgettable! We are thrilled to announce our numbers exceeded expectations and we raised over $31,000 for University High School.