Kimberly and Brent Tipps  welcomed dozens of guests to the GRACE Gala VIP Party on October 8th at the beautiful Vaquero Club in Westlake. The elegant event honored donors and volunteers who make the Gala possible.

With the GRACE Gala scheduled for next Saturday, October 26, last Tuesday was a chance to thank the many sponsors, volunteers, committee members and others who bring the Gala to life, and express our gratitude for raising much-needed funds for client services and programs.

The GRACE Gala is the single-largest fundraising event for GRACE during the year, and funds raised support all GRACE mission services including Emergency Assistance, Clothing and Food, Transitional Housing, Senior Services and the Community Clinic.

GRACE Chief Executive Officer, Shonda Schaefer, spoke on the importance of the Gala campaign season.  Paul Bischler, GRACE Board President, voiced the appreciation of the Board for the hard work of the Gala Committee.  Gala Chairs Kimberly and Brent Tipps expressed their gratitude of all the Gala committee volunteers for the many sponsors and donors who have been so generous throughout the year to GRACE.

The Tipps welcomed Scott Simmons of Simmons Estate Homes who sponsored the VIP Party. Scott conveyed his admiration for GRACE and the support GRACE provides for those in need.

Shonda then announced the Angel of GRACE Award winner for 2019. The Angel of GRACE is awarded each year to the person or organization who exemplifies GRACE’s mission of stewardship, compassion and guidance toward self-sufficiency. The 2019 Angel of GRACE will be announced publicly at the Gala on October 26th.

Finally, Shonda led a round of applause for Ken Thompson and the Thompson Group at Classic Chevrolet for serving as the Title Sponsor of the GRACE Gala for the 12th year in a row!

As the conclusion of the event, Shonda drew for winners of magnum bottles of collector level champagne that were donated by Mark Nelson of Classic Wine Storage.

We want to say a special thank you to photographer Corey Collins for volunteering his time and talent to capture the lovely evening in his photos!

For more information about the GRACE Gala log on to www.GRACEGala.org.