Celebrate Morningside 2009

To All Parents, Guardians, Family Members and Friends,

In the spirit of building a strong community, this year's event was signal in its effect of delivering an upscale social experience for all. We found ourselves enthralled by the beauty of the Dome Room at the Arctic Club Hotel, captivated by our engaging host, Adam Gehrke, and lulled into a state of comfort by our jazz musicians, The Josh Rawlings Trio and Ernie Bracco and The Gypsy Three.

Auctioneer, David Silverman, cajoled the crowd to bid on fabulous donated items from our great variety of local business partners and our own families. Our annual fundraising push has resulted in a net profit of $75,000 for our school!

We know that you, as supporters of our school, are a generous group of people.

This party is truly a Thank You Gift we usher up annually in order to provide much needed scholarship funds and to provide some additional funds to assist the school in its programs. You make a choice in giving when you select our school, and we appreciate the help you provide.

In return we want you to feel that your contributions have been honored so to show our appreciation the entire faculty, staff and families of the school are invited to an Appreciation Party at Kent's house each May. We were fortunate to have had great weather this year. The event was well attended and all enjoyed the chance to socialize and celebrate another successful year. Kent and Joanne addressed the crowd with words of thanks. Beth talked about the many volunteers who help through the Friends of Morningside, and I delivered awards to those who worked so hard on the Auction Committee and to those who became sponsors for this year's event.

Each year the event grows a bit larger, and we encourage you to help us with this huge annual undertaking. Blue Lazarou, Auction Chair, and Karen Voorhees, Procurement Chair, spoke about the sheer joy of working on the auction and the sense of community it has provided to them. They urged others to join in the effort.

Please take the time to read through this list of our many volunteers, sponsors and donors. With all of you and your generosity, we were once again able to give a gift to our school. Times may be tough, but we recognize the vital role Morningside provides to our community and the children and youth it educates.

Thank you,
Dawn Oliver, Director of Development

Special recognition of our 2009 Sponsors and Donors

Please attend our Gala Dinner/Auction on Friday evening, March 6, 2009. Invitations are available now. Please download the invitation and response card and return to Dawn Oliver, Director of Development. Your participation would truly make a difference!


Download the invitation

Download the reply card and mail it in today.

Special people reserve their seats early. They want to help the school, and they want to know their table is marked with their name!!!

You can reserve a table now. Invite your family, friends, business associates and anyone else who appreciates a wonderful meal, great company and a fun evening.

Download the form and reserve your table today!

Here are some of the items we've already procured for the auction!

Save the Date - Celebrate Morningside Gala Dinner/Auction
Friday, March 6, 2009

Arctic Club Hotel
Northern Lights Dome Room

Enter the room that made the Arctic Club legendary and witness the breathtaking, filtered, natural light and original carved motifs. With two walls of stained glass showcasing exceptional beauty, this is the space for which you've been looking. The Northern Lights Dome Room is renowned for its Rococo gilding, original artistic frescos, ornamental cornices and stained glass dome.

Getting Donations

Interested in helping us get donations for the big event in 2009? Here's what you'll need:

(Forms in .PDF format)

• 2009 Letter for the potential sponsor
• 2009 Sponsorship Form
• 2009 Display Ads Form
• 2009 Comments from parents and alumni about Morningside Academy

• 2009 Procurement Form (This form can be filled out and printed, or saved and transmitted electronically)
  

September 19, 2008

Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

I am thrilled to write to you today, not just as the Auction Chair, not just as a Morningside parent, but also as a Morningside alumna. I graduated from Morningside some 23 years ago. When my daughter started having trouble in school, I knew just who to call. Now she is thriving and loves learning. I am so thankful to Morningside. Now I have the opportunity to show my gratitude through this year's Auction/Gala.

This is a fun evening celebrating and honoring Morningside Academy, its Founder, Dr. Kent Johnson, its Associate Director, Dr. Joanne Robbins,
and the dedicated teachers and staff that are helping our children grow. Education is their passion and this is our chance to celebrate them.

If you are a new parent, you are most likely rejoicing in your child's development so far. If you are a returning parent, you are just as excited to see the growth your child will have again this year. I encourage you to use this joy and enthusiasm to make this event the best yet. The more money raised, the more children and families will be given a chance to experience Morningside Academy as you are today. It will also help in strengthening the school foundation so that, 23 years from now if needed, other alumni will know whom to call.

I hope you all will join me for good food, good cheer, and good company as we raise our glasses in thanks to a school and community that are close to all of our hearts.

If you have any question big or small, feel free to contact me at celebration@morningsideacademy.org.

Blue Lazarou

September 19, 2008

Dear Morningside Academy Community:

I would like to invite you to participate in procuring for Morningside Academy's largest fundraiser and fun event, the fifth annual Celebrate Morningside Gala Dinner & Auction. Don't miss out on the good feeling of being an active part of the community that supports your child's growth as a human being.

What we hope for is 100% participation at all levels in whatever form that you may have the time, effort, or energy to give. It may be as simple as having a great idea for an item and emailing me or helping put the auction committee in touch with the right person for an imaginative auction item.

For a start I would love it if everyone could brainstorm at the family dinner table ideas about the following:
- Great auction ideas for the large ticket items: ie. A trip to .....
- A really entertaining personality to emcee would be...
- A great raffle item would be ......
- An excellent sponsor for the auction would be....
- A great contact would be ....

Email it to me at: celebration@morningsideacademy.org with "auction" in the subject line.

In the process of making contact with each other, we all will benefit, but most of all we will help the students of Morningside Academy.

Thank you for helping. I look forward to getting to know you all. Join us next month at our new location, Expresso Vivace. We meet the third Friday of the month. See you all Oct. 17, 2008.

Sincerely,
Karen L. Voorhees
Procurement Chair
Email: celebration@morningsideacademy.org

May 15, 2008

Dear Friend of the Academy,

This year's event was a huge success and its success reflects the effort of a year of planning and hard work undertaken by the entire "family" network, staff and administration of Morningside and the community. For the first time in the history of the event, this Gala became truly the annual event that was not only a signal social event but also a much-needed source of financial support for the school and a new link for alumni. It will supply scholarship funds of $60,000 and $45,000 income for the general fund of the school.

"Celebrate Morningside" has risen to an event of which we can be truly proud. So, for all that you have done or may do to support this effort, we are taken aback and given pause to honor you and your efforts. If you happen to pass some of our "worker bees" who spent many long hours in its preparation, please pass along some kudos. It's a big party to plan with lots of fast moving pieces and though we strive to please all, we are gratified to "pull it off' and have a fun evening while raising a sum of money for our school that truly makes a difference.

Please applaud all our sponsors and donors--an updated list is attached. Give thanks to our Auction Chairs and the committee without whom this event would not have been possible. Thank you goes out to those of you who made purchases at our auction or who attended this wonderful evening.

You are an amazing group, many of whom I have had the pleasure of working with on this fourth annual event. Some key people to recognize are: Kelli Bernhard, for the awesome silent auction and its glorious display, Kathy Randall for the record keeping of all the items, Jacqui Cohen for the first-ever interior decorating, Charlene Souriano for leading the new alumni association, and of course, Fran Reichert, Maria Santiesteban and Tiffany Thiele, our Co-Chairs for managing the event from beginning to end. The list of leaders and volunteers goes on and is listed in the Program.

We raised $105,000, and those funds will help our school, its programs and its scholarship fund. THANK YOU ALL!!

Sincerely,
Dawn Oliver
Director of Development

Special recognition of our 2008 Sponsors and Donors

With Ernie Bracco, lead guitarist, and Drew Bamber playing rhythm and lead guitar, the Hot Club Swing music of Django Rheinhart has found a home with The Gypsy Three. The virtuosity of a lead guitar, accompanied by the Hot Club sound of the rhythm guitar, elicits the original lively and bouncy gypsy jazz sound. The acoustic bass provides the backdrop of the beat. Ernie brings from New York a unique style with strong influences of the BeBop scene evidenced in his clear picking articulation. Drew, a musician and well known local artist from Whidbey Island, provides the authentic spirit of the gypsy sound

Born in New York and educated in classical, jazz and Bee Bop. Ernie Bracco has led duo's, trio's and quartets in a variety of local jazz clubs , restaurants and cafe's in New York and New Jersey areas. Following in the style of Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and Joe Pass, Ernie's music evolved into a contemporary sound which is a fusion of jazz and pop. Ernie's unique guitar arrangements and jazz and classical virtuosity allow for a solo piano like expression.The music of Django Rienhart and band named "The Djersey Djang" is another avenue Ernir has recently taken in his develoment & extention of his guitar playing. His music includes standards, Bosa Nova's Blues and some Classical. He also teaches guitar and plans to hold workshops.

Adam's career in TV actually began with 10 years of work in radio. In that period he worked for a handful of AM and FM stations here in the Puget Sound. Somewhere in the mix of all those stations he was overheard recording a stock report on a business/talk station and was immediately drafted as a traffic reporter. Since then he has broadcast traffic, weather, and news updates on countless radio stations across the Puget Sound earning the title "Seattle's Best Traffic Reporter" by Seattle Magazine in Dec. 2002.

Adam is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound, with a BA in Communication, and a minor in Music. When he isn't on air broadcasting, he's probably working on a stellar new magic trick, recording a new song, practicing Baguazhang in a local park, or taking a power nap.