June 13th was a magical evening for APU. Thanks to the generosity of Bob Gillam and an army of committed and talented volunteers and professionals, we set the community abuzz about APU and raised nearly $600,000 to support the students and programs of APU.

Five hundred guests convened in Mr. Gillam’s hangar, which was completely transformed into an elegant venue with first class food, drink, and entertainment.  The live and silent auctions featured items never seen before in Anchorage fund raisers.  The friend-raising and fund-raising that emerged from this event was substantive.

What made this really special was the entire APU community pulling together to make it happen: students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and friends.  The Gala Committee was a classic high-performance work team, working extremely hard yet having a ton of fun in the process.  Patti McGuire, co-chair of APU’s Denali Society and Bonnie Mehner, Chair of the APU Board Development committee led the Gala planning effort joined by Tyra Chandler, Micky Becker, Diane Wilke, Tim Lewis, Diane Draper, Robbie Graham, Beth Weiser, Kimberlee Johnson, Mary Castleberry, Harry McDonald, John Eldred, Charlie Hewitt, Darl Schaaff, Art and April Hackney and APUs staff members Debbie Roll, Jessica Harris, Jessica Leystra, and Susie Zargorski.

Heartfelt thanks to everyone.  Please enjoy the APU Gala picture gallery below.

WOW-APU!

Don Bantz

[slickr-flickr tag=”2012Gala” items=”300″ type=”gallery”]