On Friday, September 23rd the BBBS Columbia Northwest community rallied together at the Redd on Salmon after a two-year hiatus. The sun shined bright as guests arrived to enjoy the cocktail hour, packed with entertainment featuring saxophonist Eldon T. Jones, Finn the Magician, a 360 photo booth, and delicious cocktails from Tito’s Handmade Cocktails.
We were joined by a special guest speaker, Artis Stevens, President & CEO of BBBSA, who gave a moving speech about the importance of mentorship in the lives of youth. Alumni Little, Lindsey Murphy, celebrated her 30th year in contact with her Big Sister, Melissa, a science teacher that inspired her to start her wildly popular YouTube show, the FabLab. The night concluded with a celebration of the 2022 Bigs and Littles of the year highlighting the matches of Big Brother Gus and Little Brother Jason and Big Sister Monica and Little Sister Jeni who took the stage to accept their awards.
As a community, we were able to raise a record-breaking $475,000 in support of our one-to-one mentoring programs here in Portland and SW Washington. One of the best parts of the night happened among all the staff and event volunteers after the event when, Beach Pace, BBBS CNW CEO, rallied everyone together to take a moment to take pride in all the work we had all put into this event. A sincere thank you to everyone who made this event a beautiful success. It takes a village, and we are so glad you are a member of our village.
Our sincerest appreciation goes out to our 2022 Gala Committee led by co-chairs Suzy Alexander, and Lee Lenker. A BIG thank you to our Presenting Sponsors Twenty Four 7 and Concentrix Catalyst, our Ignite Sponsors The Standard, OnPoint Community Credit Union, Nike, M Financial Group, Cambia Health Solutions, Andersen Construction, our Inspire Sponsors KPMG, Moss Adams, Comcast, Baird, General Sheet Metal, Hillsboro Hops, M Science, Sheldon Warmington & Janel Warmington, and Table Sponsors ACME, Advantis Credit Union, Brown & Brown Insurance. Barran Liebman LLP, Natasha Elhaj-Hedinger, Kaiser Permanente, Moda Health, North Highland, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Pacific West Bank, Parker, Smith & Feek, TM Rippey Consulting Engineers and Xenium HR!
To see photos from this amazing evening, click here.
