Lakeside athletic boosters showed teamwork with fund-raiser success

Editor:

Lakeside High School's raffle was a complete and fantastic success!

Giving away $10,000 to one lucky winner and $17,000 to the Lakeside Athletic Department in one night is no small feat. It's big news we'd like to share.

This past Saturday night, Don Smith was the winner of $10,000. His daughter, Bonnie Hagler, accepted the check accompanied by a huge crowd roar from the 350 supporters in attendance.

Earlier that same evening a check was presented to the Lakeside Athletic Department for $17,000 at the first annual Lakeside High School Raffle. The event was sponsored and run by the Lakeside Panther Athletic Association (LPAA). ...

Thanks to The Columbia County News-Times for the announcements of our event. We received numerous sales from News-Times readers.

I would like to thank and congratulate our LPAA and express my humble appreciation to all who supported the event. The LPAA was electrified about the outcome. ...

The LPAA began event planning and approvals back in January. Our theme was "Vegas." The event was a culmination of efforts by our LPAA and primarily due to the dedication and success of our ticket sales coordinators (Bart Chandler, Bob Evans, Rick McMurtrey and Clark Morris) and our event coordinators (Lori Harrell, Sandi Johnson, Shelly Evans and Doug and Julie Miller).

The journey began in January when our raffle was approved. John Smith had tickets professionally prepared and we began selling tickets Feb. 7. ...

Lori Harrell got 40 door prizes from local restaurants, clubs and businesses (thank you) worth an estimated $3,000. Stephanie James and the LPAA sports team representatives were also keys to the door-prize success. ...

Doug Miller did an astounding amount of work. He reserved and delivered tables and chairs for 350 expected guests. Then, with help from his wife Julie, and from Frank Johnson and Bobby Azar, they grilled 350 steaks, prepared baked potatoes and prepared salads and tea. Doug also sold at least 30 tickets. (Our football team helped set up the stage, tables and chairs in the Panther Gymnasium -- teamwork exemplified.)

Sandi Johnson and 30 volunteers prepared desserts, and folks like Sindi Azar helped display them. ...

Shelly Evans arranged support from Tina Chandler, Elizabeth Todd, Michael and Angela O'Byrne, Harry and Shelia Revell and our National Honor Society students to decorate the tables. We also got some Vegas decorations thanks to Brian Campbell and the prom. ...

Our cost for the event was less than $3,000 and kept low due to the volunteer efforts and contributions, especially from Doug Miller.

During this journey to our big night, our ticket committee reported their progress to Bob Evans... .

Thanks to Clark Morris, (sold more than 50 tickets) Bart Chandler (helped guide us with raffle experience), Rick McMurtrey (donated door prizes from Sonic), and Bob Evans (our LPAA treasurer) we sold all of our 300 tickets.

When the raffle drawing began, Bob also audited our every move to ensure we were accurate. We were.

Special thanks also to our emcee, Jason Lutes. Jason videotaped numerous interviews of our student athletes. These interviews were transferred to CD thanks to LHS' own Jason Stark and were viewed during the number drawings. ...

Our principal, Jeff Carney, and our athletic director, Randy Hill, were with us all the way. Thanks also to Karen Lovekamp and Jennifer McCaferty for all the help with sales through the LHS office.

The event was incredible.

Again, thanks to the LPAA and the supporters of this amazing event.

Gil Eustice, president

Lakeside Panther Athletic Association