The 2010 St. Cecilia Gala co-chairs would like to thank the St. Cecilia Community and all our friends for the tremendous success of the event. Building on the four previous years’ success, the countless volunteers drew on some tested ideas and implemented some new big ones to put on Ames’ go-to fund-raiser and social gathering. The combined efforts added over $130,000 to the Education Endowment to help insure a bright future for Catholic education in Ames.

The addition of the remote control, silent auction bidding devices was well received and added a new level of competition and fun to the Gala. The silent auction proceeds grew and the devices made the Science Center Class Party live auction item a spirited team effort. What fun it was to watch the ‘leader’ arrow bounce from class to class. Congratulations to the first-graders!!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to the countless volunteers who offered their time, treasure and prayers in planning and execution. We will have a wrap up meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 at Brewer’s. Please plan to attend and bring your ideas and suggestions as plans begin anew for 2011. God may be calling you to be a co-chair for the 2011 event, in which case, you’ll want to come and get in on the fun!

May God bless you.

Monica and Pete, Kelly and Ty, Jenni and Jason

The St. Cecilia Gala is planned at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Gateway. Over the last year countless volunteers have worked tirelessly to put this event together.

We have some amazing live auction packages like a Pheasant Hunt for Four with NCAA coaching legend and ESPN commentator, Bob Knight. A fishing trip in sunny South Florida. A trip to Ireland. A trip to Tuscany. A chance to live your resolution with training and entry into the Des Moines Marathon. A chance to experience Culture. Cuisine. Couture with an catered brunch, runway style show, tour of designed loft space and champagne shopping all in Des Moines' trendy East Village. VIP experience at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

We have something for golf, baseball and football addicts. ISU fans can experience an ultimate Cyclone tailgate OR a cookout with the coaches. The packages assembled are truly once-in-a-lifetime.

Come and experience the IML silent auction bidding technology, which is new this year.

For information about the Gala, click on the link on the right of the homepage and download a copy of the catalog. For reservation information, contact Jean Dirks at 292-8455 or jdirks@iastate.edu.

The Gala planning team is eternally grateful for the community support of this event to raise money for the Education Endowment of St. Cecilia School and Religious Education programs.

With gratitude,
Kelly, Monica, Pete and Ty

Mark your calendars St. Cecilia Gala fans. Heather Burnside, popular radio personality on 95KGGO in Des Moines, accepted an invitation to be the emcee for the Gala, which is planned for Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Burnside is on the air weekdays as a co-host with Lou and the Round Guy and hosts her own program, too. She earned rave reviews in 2007, when she sat with Keith Murphy to co-host SoundOFF on WHOTV in Des Moines. Burnside has a special brand of humor that will engage all Gala attendees.

St. Cecilia Religious Education Confirmation candidates have joined forces with the Gala committee, as a service to our faith community. We are so grateful to have these ambassadors available to help us with this important fundraiser for the school and religious education programs. The student-volunteers will become versed in the remote control bidding devices, which will headline the silent auction. They'll be available to answer any questions as bidding takes place.

As promised, event registration and donations can be made on-line! Tickets are on sale now. Please click on the Online Event Registration link at right to register and donate to this amazing event.

Stay tuned for more breaking news. Information on our once-in-a-lifetime live auction packages is coming soon.

The planning continues.
Please come to a Gala committee meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the Gateway Inn & Conference Center. There are many volunteer opportunities. Come and visit and see which committee activities resemble your interests. You'll be glad you did. The St. Cecilia Gala is successful due to the efforts of all involved. We hope to see you there.

Greetings St. Cecilia community and welcome to the fabulously updated www.stcamesgala.org! The fifth annual event is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. As you can see from the greeting, our theme is "Thank God." As co-chairs of the St. Cecilia Gala, we have spent a great deal of time on research to build on the original and make improvements and positive changes to this site, which will make it more informative, reach a wider audience, provide for ease of donating and purchasing tickets to the event, and ultimately help us raise money for the endowment of the school to insure its stability for future generations of children.

Our first goal is to assemble a giant group list to send updated Web site information via e-newsletters. Please register to receive these updates and remind your friends and family to do the same. Become a fan of St. Cecilia Gala on Facebook. The possibilities are endless with the technology available, and we intend to use it all toward our aim of raising money. Our efforts will be tireless…

We will strive to keep you, our valued Gala fans, informed on plans, volunteer opportunities, exciting live auction packages and our wish list for silent auction items, among other things. You are our most important asset. We hope that updates will be frequent and varied and we welcome your ideas. If you hear buzz about something pertinent to Gala and want more details, please ask and we’ll include it here, in our e-newsletter and post it on our Facebook page. If you know of someone who would be interested in a live auction package or silent auction item which you’ve seen here, forward the links to your contacts and colleagues. Perhaps they’ll buy a ticket and attend the Gala. Check back to this site and Facebook for breaking news...