The hipcil Gala Event
After a short two months of planning, hipcil ventured into some new territory and held a small Gala meant to raise funds to cover activities that have no other financial support. This was a departure because the annual dinner dances had been basically designed as social events for hipcil members. This time the concentration focused more on vendors and colleagues and borrowed from the Russ Berrie Foundation by creating the “hipcil Making a Difference Award”.
The guest of honor and first award recipient of the evening was Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli, who has been a longtime benefactor through his program to donate clothing from the town’s outlets to benefit our consumers in Hudson County. He brought members of his staff and after a great introduction by Trisha Ebel he spoke about his commitment to the residents of his town.
The next three awards went to three longtime members of hipcil’s Board of Trustees, each of whom have served well over 25 years. They are:
· Anna Navatta – Board chairperson who sits on multiple Boards and committees in her three-county jurisdiction.
· Rick Hodgman – hipcil’s longest serving treasurer who has had a long career as a CPA. He is actively involved in the Special Olympics and the Knights of Columbus.
· Betty Fetzer – Board Vice-Chair who enjoyed a long career as a Nurse and who has been involved as her town historian, a longtime supporter of the Girl Scouts and a world traveler.
The evening was quite festive with a lovely buffet, a lively DJ and the opportunity for hipcil to make new friends and forge new alliances. The silent auction included many interesting items that caused some excited bidding. All of us at hipcil hope to continue this success by planning our next even bigger and better gala for the fall of 2024.
