Breathless!

After a full year of planning preparation, and implementation, the Auction is - almost unbelievably - in our rear view mirror.  And what a view it is!

We depend on the Auction as our major fundraising venture, but anyone who's ever attended or contributed to one of its many committees knows that, in reality, it's so much more.  In terms of the almost magical way that so many separate components come together to create this one magnificent event, it is, perhaps, the very definition of St. Robert community.  Words will never adequately convey my appreciation for the labors of love, creative energy, and hours upon hours of effort that came together to bring it to life.

To Doris Brosnan and Rob Sullivan and Melissa and Jeff Hicks:  Thank you for taking the helm and leading this venture from conceptualization to actualization.  You made a fairy-tale dream into reality through your gifts of vision, drive, sweat, and time.

To our committee chairs and volunteer teams: Thank you for your laser focus and proud commitment to one component of this big machine.  Whether it was item inventory, clean-up, underwriting, or one of the other 17 "parts," your contributions were an essential contribution to making the whole machine accomplish its mission.

To our corporate sponsors, especially Von Briesen and Roper Law, Mosaic Marketing, the Fox Company, and US Bank:  Thank you for channeling your community support through our little school and endorsing the work we're doing to prepare a highly competent workforce of the future.

To our underwriters and many, many item donors:  Thank you for your generous contributions - often creatively packaged - and your confidence in our mission.

To every guest who attended:  Thank you for setting aside time to celebrate St. Robert School; for dressing up and getting a sitter; for breathing life into our party; for making our community stronger.

To guests who entered into spirited bidding and those who went home with winning purchases:  Thank your for opening your wallets and your hearts to help us achieve our essential fundraising mission.

Although the final numbers are not in yet, preliminary calculations indicate that the auction netted in the ballpark of $232,000, including a record of $56,453 in donations to "Operation Spectre," our media center renovation proposal.  Every year, we build this event, and then hold our breath to see if "they will come."  This year, we took an especially big risk in building in an "Ask" that required some understanding of educational pedagogy.  We truly held our breath with uncertainty about whether you would embrace the future through this lens of changing needs.  Although I've finally exhaled, your response has left me breathless!

I extend my humble gratitude to the Home and School Association and Athletic Association for your respective $10,000 and $4,000 challenge gifts.  Your votes of confidence encouraged so many others to follow your generous lead.  I also extend my special appreciation to the Webers and IS Corporation for your amazing individual gift of $5,000.  Please know that every individual gift built upon this sturdy foundation to get us to goal.  Our students (and teachers!) are looking forward with excitement to working with new technologies in our re-envisioned inspirational space.

Now that a successful Auction is in our rear view mirror, we can turn our eyes toward the next school year with confident enthusiasm.  Let's watch how generosity turns into dreams materialized.