On Saturday,
March 24, Geneva’s sanctuary was once again transformed into an elegant eatery
hosting 95 people who purchased tickets for our youth mission trips fundraising
dinner and auction.
The evening
started with valet and coat check service (even though it was unseasonably warm
and not many coats were worn.) Dinner
was served by the youth, which included spicy squash/bean chili, beef
wellington or baked salmon, mashed potatoes and peas. Along with serving and
busing tables, many youth also participated in the entertainment for the
evening. Steven Daubenmeyer, Billy
Stark, Louie Stark, Josh Doering, Jessica Krone, Caitlin Marchand and TJ
Lowmaster started us off with a skit called “Out of Focus” that depicted a
little bit of what our your group meetings are like. Lauren Arquette shared her
talent on the piano with a song called “When September Ends.” Amanda Glass and
Nathan Pohl told us a little bit about Washington DC and Cincinnati, the cities
where our youth will be serving this summer. Nathan Pohl, TJ Lowmaster, Marilyn
McBain, Caitlin Marchand, Amanda Glass, Beth Stark, Madelyn Degener, Steven
Daubenmeyer, Lauren Arquette and Drew Degener performed a skit called “Disciple
Auditions.” We showed a filmed skit called “Are we HIS Neighbors?” with Louie
Stark, Drew Degener, Jessica Krone and Travis Wiggins. Beth Stark, Jessica
Krone, Amanda Glass, TJ Lowmaster and Marilyn McBain participated in a skit
called “Amazing Grace.” Marilyn McBain shared her talent as well, singing
“Blessed Be Your Name.” Beth Stark, Drew Degener and Madeyln Degener performed
a reader’s theater titled “A Love Letter From His Love Letter.”. Several Almuni
shared their thoughts on youth mission trips via a video, edited by Ian
Glodich. One of our youth alumni, Hannah Glodich, came back to perform a song.
“Awake My Soul,” with Marilyn McBain and Beth Stark. And finally, Beth Stark
closed the show with “A Sailor’s Prayer.”
None of this
could have been accomplished without help the help of numerous volunteers.
Yummy hors d’oeuvres, a fabulous dinner and a scrumptious dessert were created
by Carol Bunch with the help of Barb Berbert, Ella Bastine, Kay Sousa, Dwight
Gibson, Sarah Wiggins, and Christy Marchand. Valet service was headed up by
Mark Arquette and his expert parking team of Chuck TenBroeck, John Glodich and
Jeff (and Zachary) Doering. The volunteers of the Youth Ministry Team (Brian
Anderson, Dan Degener, Mike Graunstdat
and Bryan Smith) were essential in pulling off this event. Diana Noble was
indispensable in helping to create amazing baskets for the auction. The
decorating team, led by Angie Stark, and aided by Anne Degener and Julie
Graunstadt created a beautiful atmosphere in our sanctuary. Debbie Krone and Christy
Marchand facilitated the silent auction check out process. Stu Delaney and Jeff
Doering stepped in to run our sound board and video projections. The parents of
all our youth stayed after to help transform the space into our worship area
for Sunday.
A big thanks to
all of those people mentioned above who took their time, talent and energy to
make this night so successful. (Please forgive us if we’ve left anyone off the
list.) A special thanks goes to everyone who attended, helped set up, ironed
table clothes and napkins, stayed to help clean up, donated auction items and
bid on auction items this year. Our silent auction had 42 items or packages to bid on. Along with
items in our auction, each youth attending the mission trips this summer
donated a service to be auctioned off. Services included babysitting,
gardening, cooking, pet sitting, yard work and odd jobs. Several bids were over the donation value! A
generous $3200 was raised from the silent auction alone. The total fundraising
from this night netted approximately $4300. Adding our bake sale and Super Bowl
sub fundraisers, the youth have raised over $500 toward the cost of their
mission trips. Through your generous support many lives will be touched by the
love of Christ this summer.
