Bi-annual Athletic Banquet fundraiser benefits Tonopah athletes

On April 26, the bi-annual Tonopah Athletic Banquet took place at the Tonopah Convention Center, becoming a sold-out evening that grossed around $50,000 before costs.

The event is held every other year, with the mission of raising funds to provide for the Tonopah Middle School and the Tonopah High School athletics department including other curricular departments. Over 150 tickets were sold at $50 a dinner ticket that included a catered meal, games, raffle prizes, silent and live auctions.

“Our goal is to be able to continue supporting our athletes and clubs,” says Lisa Westerlund, one of the event volunteers.

“There is never enough money available or allocated to our schools and this allows another support for things like assisting with travel, gear, uniforms, trophy cabinets, equipment, banners, awards, an amplifier for the field and mascot gear,” Westerlund adds.

Although it is a 21 and over event, many of the students in the athletic programs volunteered with setting up and breaking down with the adults in the Tonopah High School Booster Club and other volunteers running the dinner and show.

This year the dinner was served buffet-style with the culinary delights of Ayers Creation, as guests enjoyed tri-tip, salad, mac and cheese with baked potatoes and green beans.

When guests arrived at their tables, each group was given a bidding sheet to participate in a game of “Dessert Dash.” This year there were 25 different desserts donated, ranging from cakes, pies and cookies.

Dessert Dash is a high-energy game where the table with the highest bid gets to choose first and so on as the auctioneer calls them out.

Hoss Stevens stepped in as the professional auctioneer to navigate the live auction, adding comedic commentary. The evening soon became comedic for the guests, as the dessert runners had to be quick to keep up with placing the dishes and honoring bids.

Jeff Galli and Marc Gregory were the hosts for the evening, keeping everything going smoothly with the crowd, according to Westerlund.

The silent and live auction items included two tickets for the TV show “Wheel of Fortune”, tickets and hotel stays from the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Reno Aces, Vegas Thrill, Aviators, Cirque du Soleil, Sarah Hotel, and baskets donated by sports teams from the Tonopah Middle and High schools.

“We’re in such a small town that if one child plays one sport, they pretty much play all of them, so it really benefits the families to have one fundraiser to focus on and the kids can just play all year without having to worry about any costs that would come up,” says Dawn Sligar, president of the Tonopah High School Booster Club.

Participants, families and volunteers included the Stringer family, the Garcias, the Millers, the Blackburns, the Reynosas, Dana Friel, Bria Galli, the Carters, Robert Otteson, Duffy Otteson, Honey Strozzi, Lynn Kretschmer, and members of the Elks Lodge.

Sligar, Westerlund and the Tonopah High School Booster Club highlighted some of the larger donors to the event: MK Enterprise, the Town of Tonopah, Five Mile Beef, Dunan Golf Management, Penny Otteson, 2A Daddy, Suma and Silver, Shaw Engineering, Black Rock, Schmueser &Associates, Aaron Stalker, Giving Care, Tonopah Mini Storage and RV Park, South Point Hotel and others.

“People were so giving,” adds Sligar, who noted that the response to the event was overwhelming, proving that the community always shows up to support the children.

Rachel Ebel is a freelance reporter living in Tonopah.