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Rainbow Village 20th Anniversary Gala Highlights

• $100,000 profit raised for Rainbow Village Families
• 275 guests in attendance
• The live auction raised record numbers due to:
  1. Dan Reeves, rather than auctioning off 1 four-some of golf with him, volunteered himself for 4 four-somes of golf, plus dinner, with him.
  2. Clyde Strickland bought the Rainbow Village Children’s Art Project, a bookcase, and promptly sent it back to the auction floor where it was auctioned off again to Tony & Lori Landis and finally to Marshall Barton.
  3. Kathy Fincher did an amazing job creating a live painting during the Gala and then finishing it off in front of the entire audience. She was inspirational in comparing darkness and light in her painting to the darkness in a child’s life before they find the light at Rainbow Village.
  4. Duluth Travel graciously donated a 5 day Caribbean cruise that brought in a significant amount, and
  5. Eric and Wendy Webber let us auction off a day on their houseboat for you and 25 friends – twice! The generosity of these patrons made the live auction an unheard of success. The combined talent of Auctioneer Bob Russell and Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris, assisted by Larry Troutman, added great excitement to the auction.

We have to give kudos to the charming Master of Ceremonies, Dan Reeves, who drew the audience in with his wit and charm. This was his first time serving as a Master of Ceremonies and he did an amazing job.

Our table of Rainbow Village graduates earned a standing ovation from the crowd and brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

The highlight of the evening, by far, was Steven Jackson’s speech. His inspiring and moving story has been told and retold by Rainbow Village staff, volunteers, and guests. The most astonishing attribute of Steven is his humility. He was absolutely overwhelmed by the love and attention he received and as he posted on his Facebook page, “I don’t know how to even receive all this love when so many told me I wasn’t even worth it.” A 26-year old telling his story about living at Rainbow Village when he was 16 was powerful.

The Wine Wall sold out before many in the crowd even realized it. The 9 magnums of fine wine that were used as raffle prizes earned many envious glances from the guests that didn’t win one. 150 bottles of wine were sold in less than an hour.

We had 53 new and recurring Angels come forward to pledge an annual or monthly gift to support the operations of Rainbow Village.

This was the 20th anniversary and the PowerPoint presentation that played continuously during the cocktail portion of the evening truly highlighted how far we’ve come and where we’re going.

Rainbow Village Chairman Emeritus, the Reverend Joel P. Hudson, was recognized for his vision, leadership and service over the past 20 years.

Gala Co-Chairs Michelle Alcorn and Molly Kress and their team, including Ann Tinkler, Rita Boughrum, and Mary Halliburton spent countless hours planning this Gala.

This special evening was presented by: Wilmington Trust, Novelis, Peach State Freightliner, Progress Container & Display, The Kress Family, Coles & Barton LLP, Motorcars of Georgia, Layer 3 Communication, Tony & Lori Landis, and Multiple Benefits Corporation.