When snow started covering the Willamette Valley just days before the Emerald Christian Academy (ECA) benefit auction, team leaders, volunteers and teachers started to pray for it to clear enough that guests could still attend. The morning of Sunday, Feb. 9, dawned with temperatures warm enough to turn the previously icy roads into slush, allowing guests to attend Emerald’s Evening of Elegance — Muscial Dreams at the Emerald Valley Resort in Creswell, Ore.
Despite worries that the power might not be on, teams of volunteers showed up Sunday morning in snow boots to display items for the silent auction and decorate the event room, dodging snow melting from trees and navigating around fallen branches.
Katrina Harness, head of the auction team, shares, “We are so thankful for our God and all the volunteers (many who worked behind the scenes and made a huge difference), all the donors, and all the folks who attended in spite of all the crazy weather. We certainly felt the support of this community and are so blessed to have so many families who show such huge support.”
The main goal at the auction was to raise money for ECA to install a new phone and intercom network to replace the current out-of-date system. Guests enjoyed an evening of live music from ECA alumni Louis LaRiccia and Lindsey Rodgers, plus her husband, Steve Rodgers. Attendees participated in the dessert dash, bidding for the chance to be the first table released to pick from a mouth-watering array of cakes and cookies.
Sheldon Eakins, ECA principal, was pleased by the evening’s turnout.“The 10th annual Emerald Christian Academy auction was a huge success," he says. "In spite of the weather, we received a great turnout and donations to further enhance our educational program. This is evidence that our ECA community sees the value of Seventh-day Adventist Christian education.”
Louis LaRiccia, an ECA alumnus, plays the piano as part of the evening's entertainment.
