Dear NAC Friends,Oh my goodness! How do I begin to say thank you to all of you!? When I hit my pillow late Saturday night I felt like we had just won the Super Bowl, a Grammy, and the James Beard Award all in one weekend!
Red, White & Snow began with the Library Tasting at St. Regis Deer Valley. Volunteers were in place early, the room was warm, inviting and a perfect kick-off to a fantastic weekend! The event staff and chef at St. Regis went beyond the call of duty with the food and presentation. We were all touched by the personal commitment to the National Ability Center from each vintner as they arrived in Park City. Parallel Napa Valley hosted a wonderful welcome dinner for our vintners at the home of Bob Franco in Deer Crest following the Library Tasting. Many thanks to all for the gracious hospitality.
Friday morning began with a great start as vintners joined us at Deer Valley to ski with our local Paralympic and Olympic "Legends", NAC participants and volunteers in typical Utah sun and snow. Skiing was followed by beautiful wine and food pairing for an unbeatable lunch at the St. Regis’ Astor Terrace. Chef Chip McMullin from the St. Regis went above-and-beyond with outdoor grills and action stations. Everyone enjoyed the sun, new friends and outstanding vino! Many thanks to our set up and break down volunteers and efforts by the fabulous behind the scene team of Kristi and Ric!
Friday night, private dinners were held in 17 different homes around Park City. Chefs and vintners planned menus and pairings for weeks. Our dinner hosts worked tirelessly preparing their homes for an exciting night of excellent food and wine. Dinner coordinators Rachel & Rob Alday and Hilary Reiter worked for months coordinating each home, chef and vintner. Many thanks to all of you who worked so hard to make each dinner a memory for those who attended and to those who reminded us throughout the night of the mission we were all gathered to support. The Gala Saturday night sold out two weeks prior to the event, which was a positive foreshadowing of things to come the night of the gala. The night started off with an amazing silent auction. Amy Tisovec and Grace Gorton lead our silent auction and pushed unrelentingly on the entire committee to collect quality items. The Silent Auction brought in record numbers thanks to their efforts!
The Race for the Cause theme created an energy throughout the night that began with Paralympian, Chris Waddell, and was carried by the Fighter Jet Top Gun lot, followed by an outstanding and heartfelt presentation by the Barber Family-and specifically young Sarah Barber. Sarah won the hearts of every person in the room and showcased in-person the NAC mission in action. Many thanks to the Barber Family for their participation and passionate support!
Click on the photo to see Sarah's storyFollowing the Barber presentation, the floor was opened up for the Sponsor-a-Child portion of our auction. Auctioneer David Reynolds could not shout out the paddle numbers fast enough. I have never seen generosity, compassion and love flow as freely as I did at that moment. The NAC has so many needs, so many programs that need our support, and so many resources in order to keep our operations moving. I wept with joy knowing these monies were so needed and would be well-utilized. Many thanks go out to those who donated during the auction. We were all touched not only by the large numbers but the smiles and the energy with which you gave. Thank you.
There were so many behind-the-scene volunteers that made the three days of events a huge success. The Red, White and Snow Executive Committee stayed on task, followed up and stood with all of us to the bitter end to ensure a strong finish.
Again, thanks to all of you for your compassion and giving hearts!
Rena Webb
Development Manager
renaw@discovernac.org
