| Mardi
Gras event a success
The St. Mary’s Hospital Mardi Gras event which was held on March 22nd was deemed a success. “I have to admit I was a little worried, our ticket sales were a little slow at first; just like last year but the week prior to the event they picked up” commented Development Coordinator, Cheri Holthaus. “We didn’t quite sell out but we still had a great crowd.” “The proceeds from this event will go towards the remodeling of our emergency room; it may take several years to earn enough money to begin let alone complete this project,” commented Holthaus. “But thanks to the generosity of all those who donated cash, purchased tickets, donated and/or purchased auction items we are on the right track. We won’t know how much money we raised until all our expenditures are calculated, but we already know it was a financial success.” The dinner which was catered again this year by Stephanie Duclos from “A Taste of Art” consisted of mixed salad with roasted walnuts and cranberries, steak gorgonzola, trottole alfredo, green beans sautéed with jalapeno bacon, roll and dessert shooters. “Many of the guests commented on how wonderful the meal was and how delicious the desserts were,” said Holthaus. The hall was decorated in traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold with a New Orleans background. The tables had a purple table cloth, cut glass goblets, and gold satin chair covers. “I have seen the hall decorated very nicely for weddings and other events, but nothing like this,” commented one of the guests. The Idaho County Orchestra provided music during the social hour and dinner. The Idaho County Royalty greeted guests as they arrived; hung up their coats, presented them with Mardi Gras beads and escorted them to their tables. There was a silent and live auction; auctioneer and emcee; Jim Church kept the crowd engaged while he auctioned off trips, a wine tree, beer wagon, furniture and much more. The silent auction included everything from various college football tickets to beauty products to homemade rolls. “The committee would like to extend a special thank you to Jim for keeping the crowd entertained throughout the evening,” Holthaus said. “He honestly is one of the reasons the evening was such a success, he is such a natural entertainer.” “I want to give special thanks to all our donors especially our major donors who contributed towards this event; Palouse Imaging Consultants, Asker’s Harvest Foods, Cloninger’s, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Don & Donna Spencer Estate, Monastery of St. Gertrude, Pathologists’ Regional Lab, Valley Facial Plastics & ENT, Hillco and Life Flight,” commented Holthaus. “Their support is what makes this event so successful.” “In addition to our sponsors; there are several other people I would like to thank,” commented Holthaus. “Carol Altman, Marlene Schumacher and Kim Miller for helping not only at the registration table but helping throughout the evening, the dealers who helped to make the ‘casino’ portion of the evening so enjoyable. I would also like to thank Doreen’s Saloon for allowing us to use her liquor license; without that we would not be able to operate the bar which brings in quite a bit of money for the event; the bartenders Tonya Ormsby and Amanda Kaschmitter. And I can’t forget to thank NICI for allowing the offenders to come down and help us set-up and tear-down; I honestly am not sure we would be able to do it without their help.” Committee members included Shelli Schumacher, Jessica Enneking, Brenda Kaschmitter, Collette Schaeffer, Tina Fernandez, Joyce Gehring-Sonnen and Natalie Latimer. “All these members worked so hard to make this event a success; they helped get auction items, set up the entertainment, organize volunteers and they spent many hours decorating and cleaning up,” Holthaus commented. “I am not sure I will ever be able to thank them enough for everything they did.” Plans are already underway for next year’s event. “Even though this year’s Mardi Gras was a huge success we know there is always room for improvement and we want to make the 2015 event even better, so if you have suggestions on how to improve Mardi Gras please contact one of the committee members” said Brenda Kaschmitter. 
The Idaho County Orchestra getting ready to entertain at the Mardi Gras. Photo provided by Cheri Holthaus. 
A few of the Mardi Gras auction times. Photo provided by Cheri Holthaus. |
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