On December 2, 2023, the Alliance FFA Chapter held its annual fundraiser, the Blue and Gold Gala. The Blue and Gold Gala is a fun event, offering a prime rib dinner, a silent and live auction!
Josie Sanders, the Alliance FFA Chapters’ President, was my first interviewee. I asked Josie how the officer team prepared for the gala, she responded, “The officer team spent the last four and a half months preparing for the Gala by contacting sponsors, planning the meal and venue decorations, and doing any other small details that were needed.” Josie’s job at the Gala was to greet people and hand out sponsor tickets. When asked how successful she thought the gala was, Josie said, “I think the Blue and Gold Gala was extremely successful! Since this was our second year holding this event, we were able to fix things from last year and try some new things at the event. We had a great turnout, serving just over 400 community members, and we also had a successful turnout for our silent and live auction.” Another question I asked Josie is what her favorite part of the gala was, “My favorite part of the Blue and Gold Gala is that the community gets to see and visit with our FFA Chapter as we serve them, and I also love feeling the support that our wonderful community shows the Chapter. Another great part about this event is the opportunity for members to make more connections in the community and develop leadership skills by helping put on the Gala.” One of the last questions I asked was if the FFA would continue to do this yearly, Josie stated, “I think that this event will continue to be extremely successful and that it will grow each year, I think that the Chapter should continue it as a yearly tradition. It also presents a great opportunity for the Chapter to become more involved in our community and to continue receiving support from local ag producers and business owners.” Another thing Josie mentioned is that not only did the FFA help prepare for this event, but this year we had the Alliance FCCLA help us out with making our baked potatoes!
Madison Christen, an FFA member, was the next interview. I started by asking Madison if she thought the gala was successful, she told me yes she thought it was sucessful. When asked what her favorite part of the gala was, Madison said, “My favorite part of the Gala was when they were doing the auction.” The day before is when the FFA prepare for the gala, I asked Madison if she helped with this part, she responded with, “No, but I made some of the floral arrangements.” My final question for Madison was if she thought they community enjoyed this event, she told me, “Yes, there was lots of people there and they seemed to enjoy it!”
My last interview was with one of the advisors for the FFA, Ashtyn Vivion. I asked what the Blue and Gold Gala was, she responded with, “The Blue and Gold Gala is our only fundraiser for the year for our chapter.” According to Mrs. Vivion, it takes the Alliance FFA Chapter almost the whole first semester to prepare for this event. When asked if the Blue and Gold Gala was a success, Vivion stated, “Yeah the Blue and Gold Gala was a huge success! We met our fundraising goal for the year and had a great turnout with about 400 people coming.” Finally, I asked if the event brought the community together, she said, “It’s nice to have a fundraiser where people actual come and get to interact with our students.” Mrs. Vivion told me that the Alliance FFA sold 480 tickets as whole!
Overall, the Blue and Gold Gala was very successful and had many good reviews. As the Alliance FFA Chapter wraps it up, they would like to thank everyone who helped support it and can’t to see everyone again next year!
