Humboldt, IA – The St. Mary’s Gala will be held on March 2 at 716 Main Restaurant in Humboldt. Social Hour is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. and this year’s theme is “Planting the Seeds of Hope.” For ticket information, you can go to the St. Mary’s Facebook page, the school’s website or by calling the school office at (515) 332-2856. The event is St. Mary’s largest fundraiser of the year.
Below is a question and answer on the event this year.
Q: When and where will the Gala be? What will be some of the fun and fundraising activities?
A: Gala is March 2 at 716 Main, with the social hour beginning at 5 with complimentary beer and wine and charcuterie board filled with cured meats, cheeses and a variety of sweet and savory bites. Dinner will begin at 6:30. Guests will be served slow roasted 8 oz. ribeye steak, white raspberry roasted pork loin, twice baked potato, fresh roasted vegetable medley, garden salad with choice of house made dressing including white balsamic, garlic parmesan or ranch. Ciabatta bread will also be included. For dessert, attendees can choose from Tiramisu or blooming lemon raspberry cake. 716 Main is crafting some signature drinks for this very special occasion: Seeds of Hope Sangria and Silver Laced Lemon Rose. The cash raffle drawing will happen before the live auction begins, at approximately 7:30. Five cash prizes will be awarded: 1 for $5,000, 1 for $2,500, and 5 for $500 each. Only 250 chances will be sold for $100 each, if you are interested in purchasing a cash raffle ticket, please call the parish office at 515-332-2856.
Attendees will have a chance to play two games. “Heads or Tails” sponsored by Fareway Meat and Grocery and Brown’s Shoe Fit game is where people predict whether a flipped quarter will land on its head or its tail is being. The last person standing wins a $250 gift card from Fareway and the 2nd place winner receives a $150 gift card to Brown’s Shoe Fit in Fort Dodge.
The second game is the Seiler Appliance Ace of Spades reverse raffle. The jokers and Ace of Spades are removed from the deck of playing cards with the remaining cards being sold as raffle tickets. Our sellers will allow buyers to choose his/her card(s). The card(s) will be torn in half – the buyer keeps half of the card as their receipt to match with the winning card and the other half is placed in the basket for the drawing. Our emcee will draw cards and announce each card as it is removed throughout the live auction. When only one card remains, we will announce the card and identify the holder. At that point, our auctioneer will sell the Ace of Spades and either the holder of the remaining card or the winning bidder of the Ace of Spades will be drawn from the final drawing to determine the ultimate grade prize winner of $500 in gas and groceries!
The live auction will begin at approximately 7:45 with a large assortment of donations to bid on. One of this year’s most exciting auction items is a basketball signed by Caitlin Clark (the all-time leading scorer in women’s NCAA basketball). We also have a one week stay at a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Maricopa, AZ, airfare for four is also included in the package. (The house is fully furnished with a putting green, heated/cooled pool, built-in fire pit, on-site laundry, with a park located next to the house that has pickle ball courts, basketball court, skate park, etc. A casino, excellent golf course, and mountain hiking are all very close-by.)
Football fans will be very excited about two of our live auctions packages. We have four tickets to the Iowa/Iowa State football game in Iowa City with a hotel stay for two nights at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel across the street from Kinnick stadium. We also have four tickets to the Vikings/Lions game in Minneapolis that includes a hotel stay.
For those unable to attend but still wanting to support our largest fundraiser of the year, there will be an online silent auction throughout the evening with varied closing times by category between 9 pm and 10 pm. Those items will be available for bidding beginning February 26th on our event website: https://smsg2024.ggo.bid
Q: I know you are seeking financial support for through the Friends of St. Mary’s. How does your $125,000 fundraising goal compare to past years? How does the committee work to achieve the goal? What was last year’s amount raised?
A: Last year we raised over $122,000 and we hope to surpass that total this year. We have a committee of people that help us ask area businesses for donations. They are Tonya Heier, Sarah Dieleman, and our co-chairs Anna Bormann and Maria Zeman. We also have a very energetic group of Cash Raffle Ticket sellers led by Kathie and Roger Nelson. Gala is our largest school fundraiser, and we depend on it’s success to help provide our students with the best possible education opportunities.
The following businesses are sponsoring this year’s gala:
Diamond Sponsors: Hy-Capacity Tractor Parts, and Jet Company Trailers
Gold Sponsors: Champion Seed-Joel Zeman, Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home, NorthPark Family Dentistry, St. Mary’s Knights of Columbus, and Syntex Industries,
Silver Sponsors: Bank Iowa, Berte & Son Construction, Corn Belt Power Cooperative, Dodd Construction, Tony Christensen of Edward Jones, Erpelding Voigt Co., Flooring America Design Center, Humboldt Eye Clinic with Dr. Reedy, and Sande Construction.
Bronze Sponsors: 2trees design, Clifton Kalafatich of Edward Jones, First State Bank, Fort Dodge Ford-Lincoln-Toyota, Humboldt Mutual Insurance-Abens, Marty, Curran Agency, Northwest Bank, and Wolfe Family Vision Center of Humboldt with Dr. Studer
Q: What should people know about a Christ-center education at St. Mary School?
A: St. Mary Catholic School is the choice for those who want a faith-based education rooted in the Gospel message, a sense of belonging and community, and an opportunity for Christian service. The learning program promotes value-oriented education with academic excellence in a personalized learning environment. Parent involvement and support are essential.
Q: Is the dress for the event formal or business casual? Anything people who may not have attended before need to know about the event?
A: It’s most important to us that our supporters dress in what makes them feel comfortable for this night of celebration and fellowship. Our theme this year is Planting the Seeds of Hope so think spring and wear bright colors and accents. This is a celebration of Catholic education in Humboldt County. If you ‘ve never been, I encourage you to take a chance on this exciting event.
Q: How can members of the greater Humboldt community who many not be members of the parish, help the school and its activities?
A: Purchasing a cash raffle ticket and attending the gala will help us reach our fundraising goal.
Q: This year’s co-chairs?
A: This year’s co-chairs are Brian and Anna Olson, parents of Jackson, a 2nd grader, Bowen, a Pre-K student, and Shaylee – a future St. Mary’s Student. Joel and Maria Zeman are also co-chairs and the parents of Louis, a freshman at HHS and Miles, an 8th grader at HMS, both are graduates of St. Mary’s, and Jasper a 3rd grader, and Maxwell a Preschool student at St. Mary’s.
Anna and Maria are sisters and the daughters of Mark and Susan Bormann of Livermore. They are from a Catholic family that has believed in Catholic education for more than a century.
Q: What made you choose St. Mary Grade School for your children’s education?
A: We sent our children to St. Mary’s so they would learn about the spiritual components of the Catholic faith, as well as the strong academic tradition St. Marys provides. We wanted our children to be taught in a smaller classroom setting which promotes individual success and relationships with their teachers. St. Mary’s has allowed us to have easy access to our teachers, which has promoted us to have clear communication and set goals that are appropriate for our children’s educational needs. All of the teachers have taught our children about the faith and how to lead a disciplined and educated life to help better serve our community. This is exactly why we will continue to send our children there and encourage other parents to do so as well.
Q: Did you attend Catholic school, and how did that influence your life?
A: I (Anna) attended a Catholic school for all of my education starting out at Bishop Garrigan from elementary through high school. Upon graduation in 2007, I then attended Briar Cliff University to receive my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Having attended a Catholic school helped me build a foundation in the Catholic faith and taught me ways to recognize how God is present and active in my life throughout my childhood journey into my young adulthood. From this Catholic education I was able to develop a strong commitment to my family, faith, and academics which has carried on into what we are teaching our children.
Q: What is your favorite thing about the gala? Is there something you look forward to each year?
A: Our favorite thing about the gala is seeing all the parents get together and to connect as one so we can give back to our school. It is amazing watching our community support and represent St. Marys.
Joel and Maria Zeman were asked why St. Mary’s.
Q: Why did you send your kids to St. Mary’s?
Joel: St. Mary’s provides the building blocks for the future, they provide one on one education.
Maria: Our children are allowed to praise God everyday throughout the school day.
Joel: Our children are a part of a tight group, and as we’ve seen with our older children, it helps later on in MS and HS if they’re ever in a situation or in need of friends they’ve gotten through those situations a little better because of their group of friends. St. Mary’s students have each other even after they finish 6th grade.
Maria: I specifically wanted to send them to St. Mary’s because I went to a Catholic school at Seton and Bishop Garrigan in Algona. I’ve only ever known Catholic education. I’m strong in my beliefs because I know what the Catholic faith stands for and my prayers offer me great solace in life. The structure and discipline at St. Mary’s is so important.
Joel: Good morals are taught daily and our children are held accountable for their actions.