Gala Update

The 2009 Gala will be Sunday, April 19 at The Four Seasons Hotel Austin. The gala will follow a similar format as last year, with a silent auction during the cocktail hour and a live auction during the seated dinner.

Gala tickets are $80 each and will go on sale in March. Table sponsorships are also available - an email detailing the specific levels and benefits was recently sent. Sponsoring a table is a great way to introduce colleagues and friends to GSA, while making an additional tax-deductible donation to the school - especially if you own a business.

We are also pleased to share the news that Deborah Byrd, founder of EarthSky Communications, is our featured speaker. Ms. Byrd will give a short talk during dinner, and we hope to bring her to campus to engage all of our students through a workshop or presentation. You can learn more about her work by visiting www.earthsky.org.

We are currently soliciting donations for the silent auction and could use your help, both asking businesses you know for items, and contributing them yourselves. Parent Cindy Bogard is organizing the silent auction and recommends the following best-sellers from past years: anything involving FOOD (restaurant gift certificates, cooking classes, wine certificates, gourmet items), MASSAGE and other SPA services (especially treatments that are "special" that people don't usually do on a regular basis), ACTIVITIES (movie passes, symphony tickets, tickets to sports events), and SPECIAL THINGS OR SERVICES that you have/can do and are willing to share (a week/end at your vacation home, perhaps). Please note we are not able to auction off wine or other alcohol due to liquor licensing laws, and we will not accept any hanging, or wall, art because we prefer to feature the donations from Mrs. Hoover and our girls.

For more information about the gala, please contact Jenny Smrekar at 512-383-5891 or by email.