Dinner Auction Designed for Everyone!

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Before coming to Borgia, I had never experienced anything quite like our annual dinner auction. The thematic decorations alone are amazing! However, I think it is the collection of special people who come together to make this event happen, and the special people who attend that make the event truly amazing.

This year, the coordinating committee continued a tradition of incorporating our Knight mascot into the theme by calling it a "Knight of Heroes." A year into our involvement in the area's new Navy ROTC program, we invited ROTC students to present the colors and senior Joe Schafer to play Reveille in an effort to pay tribute to the heroes who had served our country's branches of the military. Each wall of the gym featured a branch of the military in large, bubble letters, allowing the names of those who had served (or were serving) to be inscribed in the middle. 

With that, the night began in a special way. However, we were just getting started! Each year, Borgia recognizes a man, woman, or pair of people to be recipients of the Distinguished Knight Award. The people who receive this award do so only after committing a lifetime of service to St. Francis Borgia High School. While past recipients were people who have volunteered in big ways, this year's recipients were employees who have committed much more of their time and energy to the job than any full-time employee should be expected to do. Our president George Wingbermuehle and his wife Elaine were honored. George is retiring after this school year, and Elaine officially already retired, but she spends a great deal of time up at the school! 

The best part about recognizing George and Elaine is that they had no idea! George always has his fingers on the pulse of the school. He knows what is going on and when it is happening. He had even selected another person to be the recipient of the Distinguished Knight Award. However, this year, the Advancement Office didn't follow his directions. Instead. they worked with others to recognize George and Elaine, as was appropriate for all the time and service they have put in. They, like those selected before them, epitomize the purpose of this award. 

After a video featuring their commitment to the school, which began in 1981 or in the 1960s, depending on how you look at it (Elaine was a graduate in the 1960s), the Wingbermeuhle and Brinker families (Elaine was a Brinker) were brought in to experience the moment. As this group of people were ushered in, the look on the faces of George and Elaine was amazing; they had no idea their families were in the building. They had been hidden in a classroom and then the chapel as they waited for George and Elaine's recognition to begin.

All of this was so special, setting up the most important part of the evening: fundraising for our kids. 100 percent of the proceeds of the auction go towards student tuition, making attendance at St. Francis Borgia High School possible for students who would otherwise be unable to afford it. This money is raised as we auction off dozens of donated products, including everything from senior picture packages to Cardinals baseball tickets to trips to Hawaii. We even auction off a dinner provided by local priests. Our Activities Director, Brad Bruns, took home a puppy!

We also have begun a tradition called "Fund a Need" where we ask attendees to donate an amount of money to support a need at our school. Last year, we asked people to fund the picnic tables that are beneath the new pavilion. This year, we created a new scholarship in honor of George and Elaine. We needed $10,000 to endow it; we raised $18,000! It was amazing! Now, that $18,000 will grow and allow us to award a new scholarship in honor of the Wingbermuehle family for years to come! 

The general atmosphere of the auction is fun. We have dinner and drinks and contribute to the future of numerous young men and women. If you haven't experienced it before, I hope you will consider coming next year. It is every February, and you don't have to be a "high bidder" to help students. Simply coming makes a difference in adding to the atmosphere that makes the night so successful for our students.




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