A great big thank you goes out to all of our sponsors and guests that made our 2nd Annual Mardi Gras – bigger and better than our first Mardi Gras! Beads and masks were plentiful, the Wine Pull and Balloon Pop along with the Raffle and Silent Auction kept everyone engaged - making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. A good time was had by all!
To say that our 2nd Annual Mardi Gras was a success is an understatement – our number of registrations went up from 104 in 2023 to 147 in 2024 – that’s a 40% increase! And we doubled our projected revenue proceeds – including our MOVE Appeal, we raised over $40,000 – which is a record for us😊
This year we had 2 Royal Sponsors; Komatsu Mining & Bader Philanthropies, 6 Flambeau Sponsors; Kathryn & Randy Dean Charitable Fund, Phyllis E. Klein Charitable Fund, Elaine & Gerry Mainman, Modern Woodman and 2 from St Paul Episcopal Church, 7 Doubloon Sponsors; Mel & David Johnson, Elaine & Gerry Mainman, Cindy & Evert Berndt, John Hickey, Milwaukee Admirals, Direct Supply, Clement Leasing (Mary & Ross Read) and Steren McDonalds, and 4 Beaded Sponsors; Brice Cohey Consulting, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Town Bank and Carla Washington.
Andrea Williams did a bang-up job as our Emcee once again, Baked Dreams food was just as yummy as last year, Edible Impressions cookies were as tasty as they were beautiful, Shutterbug’s photo booth kept the party hopping and Felipe Rodriguez’s acoustic guitar music added much to the ambiance of the evening.
This year’s awardees include; Distinctive Trailblazer - Jeff Steren of Steren McDonalds who has been donating food from 9 of his stores twice a week for over 30 years, Individual Champions – Elaine & Gerry Mainman – who for over 28 years have contributed financially to our programs, and they served The Gathering's very first lunch at St James on January 9, 1982, Foundation Guardian – Lux Foundation who has provided us with grant funds for over 28 year with each year providing us with an increase in financial support, and Corporate Advocate – Direct Supply who has taken care of us with both financial and with material/supply support for nearly 8 years!
And to each of you reading this article –be sure to save the date for Mardi Gras 2025 –
MARCH 4, 2025!!! You don’t want to miss this fete`!
With Peace & Gratitude,
Lyn Hildenbrand
Executive Director
