Thanks to dozens of volunteers and some very generous donors, our premier of Trattoria Promessa was a great success!

Event Overview

The night began with an appetizer and wine reception that took place in the east room of the Eppson Center. Guests enjoyed strings music provided by the String Academy of Wyoming under the direction of Jennifer Lyford. There was also a silent auction on display, thanks to wonderful effort on the part of Jan Stanforth-Nachtigal. Our Women of Courage quilt – donated by Kathleen Bertoncelj and Linda Dunlap – was also on display. More about that soon!

Guests were then invited into the dining room, where each table was uniquely decorated with place settings and centerpiece displays provided by 14 different table hosts. Music continued as Anna Cheng and Connor Rothfuss from the UW Lab School performed on the violin and cello. Dinner was headed by our volunteer cook, Lorinda O’Hashi, and included salad, cheese-filled breadsticks, beef ragu over polenta, shrimp scampi, asparagus, and wine service. John Phillips of the Hits 106 Morning Show was our exceptional emcee. The AccaBellas of Laramie High School, a 12-member female vocal group with accompanying pianist and bass guitarist, were our feature musical presentation. They are directed by Donna Solverud.

Family Promise Presentation

Our Board President, Julie Edwards, introduced members of our Board of Trustees along with our newly-hired Executive Director, Ava O’Hollearn, and VISTA member Crystal DeBoer. Guests then directed their attention to a video presentation in which various Family Promise supporters highlighted the need for housing assistance in Albany County and described why the Family Promise model is a good choice. This film was produced by Nid Collins of French Creek Films with the assistance of Malorie Williamson.

Watch the Video

Dessert and Farewell

Guests enjoyed an exquisitely-presented tiramisu along with coffee and tea as Gabe Selting of UW provided beautiful background music on vocals and guitar. The official program ended with a final call for the 50/50 raffle, quilt raffle, and silent auction as well as a promotion of our Club 307 program.

Donors

We would like to thank the following donors for their generosity:

• The Still: Owner Ben Kordon for donating half the wine for the event; working to help us obtain a license to serve wine; and providing a staff member for six hours to serve. Ben was incredibly gracious with his time as well as we consulted him several times during the planning process.
• Mike and Cathy Harokopis for donating half the wine as well.
• Nicholas and Tangeman for their financial contribution which allowed us to advertise in the Boomerang and print our programs.
• The Eppson Center for donating the event space.

Success!

We currently estimate that Trattoria Promessa brought in around $10,000 to Family Promise. This includes about $3,000 from the silent auction and $500 from the 50/50 raffle. Thanks to many businesses and individuals who donated their time, auction items, and talents, our expenses for the dinner were relatively low. ALL musicians donated their time to provide wonderful entertainment and John Phillips of Hits 106 endorsed his honorarium check back to Family Promise of Albany County.

Thank you all for your meaningful participation!