Annual Gala raises nearly $50,000 for college scholarship endowment
Now in its seventh year, The Gala: Celebrating New Paltz! raised nearly $50,000 and attracted more than 300 guests, including New Paltz faculty, College Council and Foundation Board members, the surrounding community and Ambassador Herman Portocarero, Counsel General of Belgium, on Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Mohonk Mountain House.
Brian Cafferty of Brian Cafferty Real Estate; Linda Delgado Baker ’84, SUNY New Paltz Gala Committee Chair and Mary Etta Schneider, President of Historic Huguenot Street.
The Gala also held a very successful silent auction and raffle, which raised a record $15,000. Many local businesses in New Paltz and its surrounding communities generously participated. Donations included a food and wine pairing contributed by Chef John Novi of the Depuy Canal House and wine expert Kevin Zraly of Windows on the World Wine School. Other items ranged from jewelry, recreation and leisure to entertainment and fine wines.
All proceeds from The Gala will be added to a scholarship endowment for students from Ulster, Dutchess and Orange counties attending SUNY New Paltz.
This year’s Gala scholarship recipient and lifetime New Paltz resident was Laianna Gineve Ferruggia, who will be beginning her first year at SUNY New Paltz as a junior in the fall of 2010. She plans on earning a bachelor’s degree concentrated in fine arts.
“As I looked out from the podium at the full house of guests, I realized that even in these difficult economic times, the mission of Gala was alive and doing well,” said Gala Committee Chair Linda Delgado Baker ’84. “The gracious honoree and the Belgium Ambassador glowed with the thought of scholarship monies for SUNY New Paltz students and we on the steering committee smiled at the continuation of the town/gown connection. I was my honor to be part of it all.”
Major Sponsors included: Alpha Apple; Campus Auxiliary Services; James and Mary Ottaway; Key Bank; M&T Bank; Mohonk Mountain House; The Kempner Corporation; Ulster Savings Bank; and Viking Industries.
Music was provided by Bill’s Toupée and photography by Michael Gold: The Corporate Image.
The Eighth Annual Gala: Celebrating New Paltz! will be held Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 at the Mohonk Mountain House.
For further highlights, please visit www.newpaltz.edu/gala.