SANTA FE, TX, APRIL 19 – March 31st was a beautiful spring day with comfortable temperatures, bright sunshine, and lush grounds at Still Waters Ranch to set the stage for a record-breaking evening of fundraising for the Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation. With nearly 320 in attendance, it was often said how good it felt to be “Together Again” after hosting a completely virtual Gala in 2021. The event was also live-streamed, reaching about 1,000 viewers, thanks to our media sponsor, Texas First Bank. The guests were a “who’s who” of Santa Fe and a great mix of teachers, staff, and administrators from Santa Fe Independent School District.
Following a social hour with wine tastings, charcuterie cups, and plenty of networking, the program began with a last minute change of emcees to include Dr. Kevin Bott, Superintendent, with Gina Welsh, Executive Director of the Foundation. Speakers included Dr. Kevin Bott, who provided an update on the District, and Dr. Warren Nichols, President at College of the Mainland, delivered an inspirational message and pledged a $3,000 gift to the Foundation.
A special entertainer graced the program for the evening with magic tricks and a magical reveal of the Foundation’s new mascot, an owl. As a symbol of literacy and education, the owl will be used in a variety of ways and will be named by one lucky student through a contest, open through April 29th. Visit our website at https://santafetxedfoundation.org/news-events/meet-our-new-mascot.html.
The Foundation initiated a new Distinguished Owl Award to recognize those who demonstrate exemplary effort and support through our foundation. Those who receive this prestigious award should demonstrate some of the same characteristics the Foundation so firmly believes in, to cultivate, nurture, ignite, and inspire those in our community to take an active role in bettering our schools and community. The first honorees to receive this prestigious award were Blackie & Paula Heileman, and Raymond & Gladys Haak.
A silent auction, a live auction, and mini-grants all provided ways to support the Foundation and its programs, including but not limited to, Grants for Great Ideas, The Reading Tree, Tribe’s Closet, the new book/STEM bus, and Summer Programs. The famous wall of Classroom Wish Lists graced the back wall area for potential donors to browse and donate to individual teacher’s classroom needs and projects, raising over $12,000.
“Our annual gala was a fantastic event! ‘Together again: A Night of Inspiration’ and it was just that. We were together again after last years gala was an all virtual event and it was a night of inspiration with our new Superintendent Dr. Bott as co-emcee and generous donations from our guests that evening. We showed inspirational video testimony from educators, donors, and Santa Fe ISD staff. We raised over $160,000.00, which is a new record for us and we couldn’t be more proud! We look forward to awarding our Santa Fe ISD staff with grants coming this fall,” Renee Rockers, Foundation President and Board Member.
[About the Santa Fe TX Education Foundation]
[The Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation CULTIVATES and NURTURES the culture of generosity in our community, IGNITES exemplary experiences for every student and teacher, and INSPIRES the achievement of lifelong success. Incorporated in 2010 as a response to the local need for increased community involvement and support for public education, our non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization has reached a milestone of celebrating 12 years of serving Santa Fe ISD. Today, the Foundation supports 690 employees and 4,375 students in Santa Fe ISD. Programs including Grants for Great Ideas, Classroom Wish Lists, End-of-Year Excellence Awards, The Reading Tree Program, Tribe’s Closet, STEM, and Robotics are all supported by the Foundation. To learn more about what we do, visit www.santafetxedfoundation.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube @sftxef.]
