2011 Visions Gala

What a Success the Visions Gala Was!! In the course of the evening we raised $436,000 for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation; which is fantastic! That money is going to go towards buying the hospitals specialised vital sign monitors; which I personally have been hooked up to and was thankful that they were there just in case they needed to tell the doctors something when I couldn't.

It was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. My day on November 19th started at the Fairmont Empress at 9am to start setting up; we had to arrange the auction items, assist with the chair covers, arranging the plate gifts and so much more. It's true of what they say, "many hands do make for light work" and before you knew it it was 2pm; time to go home and get changed for the evening to come.

Upon return I was told that I would not only be in charge of the silent auction area (which I already knew) but that I would be assisting with one of the live auction lots. You see, there was this joke that I didn't know what I was going to wear to the Gala and that I should just wear the Canucks Jersey that was signed by the 2010/2011 play off team, it turned out that that joke came true. I was going to be wearing the jersey while they auctioned it off; as well as carrying the football signed by this years BC Lions Team. It was AWESOME!
I did have a great team of volunteers working with me in my silent auction area making sure that all the bid sheets were clear and to answer questions that anyone might have.
You can't imagine how quick time flew by though; before I knew it, it was 12:45am and we had wrapped everything up.
All those hours planning, gathering, arranging, and over in the wink of an eye.
It's events like this one where I was there for a total of almost 15 hours that remind me why I'm doing it...It's because I love it. 
It was all totally worth it and I can't wait to do it all over again.



18 Days Until the 2011 Visions Gala



We had another fabulous Steering Committee meeting this evening and I can't believe how quick all of this is happening; the Visions Gala is only 18 days away!
Being behind the scenes on events is such an amazing experience; it's like being an artist in a way, you have a vision (no pun intended), it starts to take shape, you correct what doesn't quiet work before revealing it to the public, and when you are finished it's something that will take every one's breath away and you will forget how many hours you spent on the tiniest detail, because it's all worth it.
Tomorrow is the volunteer orientation, it's going to be interesting being on the other side of the orientation; giving instead of receiving.
I'm love, love, loving it!!

Update!

Being a member of the Victoria Hospitals Foundations 2011 Visions Gala has been such a wonderful learning experience for me, from meetings, time lines, deadlines, and the polite process of being persistent.

Through the meetings we've decided on "The Bear". For those of you who are not familiar, The Bear is a very intricate item for the gala; it gets a raffle number attached to it and the raffle always has a wonderful prize to be won, numerous people collect The Bear as they attend this event every year.

We've collaborated on decor; beautiful colours for this year, very rich and elegant. The site survey at the Fairmont Empress was fantastic to really see how the flow will be best used for the guests and the ease of the evening. Also, all the conversations, weighing the pros and cons of certain items, situations has been great getting the ideas flowing and evolving. Overall a priceless learning experience for myself that I am very grateful to be a part on.

If you are planning on attending, make sure you get your tickets, I would hate for you to miss this event.

I'll be there all day and all night and definitely reporting back to give you the update on how it all goes!

Will I be seeing you there on November 19th?

Breaking News!!



I'm sure any of you who have worked an event you are used to getting a "thank-you" email afterwards; which is always greatly appreciated to be recognized for all your hard work, right?
Well, after the Courtnall Celebrity Classic Gala I received an email which I thought was similar to the ones that I have received in the past; only thing was this wasn't just like any email I had received, no this one was different...

"Hi Sonya,
I just wanted to send you a note to thank you again for your help with the Courtnall Celebrity Classic Gala. You stood out with a number of our staff and we were very impressed with your attention to detail and professional, friendly attitude.
 When we were chatting on Friday you had mentioned that you might be interested in helping out with our upcoming Visions Gala. We would like to invite you to join the Steering Committee if you are available. I know you work full-time so it might be a problem with your schedule to commit the time, but we would be honoured to have you."

This email was way more exciting!! So, yes, you've guessed it, I am now on the Steering Committee for the upcoming Visions Gala; which will be happening here in Victoria on Saturday, November 19th. Mark your calendars!
I'll be keeping you up to date on our progress and any exciting news I can share without spoiling the night; For those that aren't familiar it is an event organized by the Victoria Hospital Foundation (VHF) to raise money for much needed new equipment within Victoria's Hospitals. (Follow this link to check out last years event http://www.victoriahf.ca/visions/)
I'm just so excited and honored to be a part of this event; I just can't wait for my first meeting!! Can you feel the excitement?