The Olympia FFA Alumni & Supporters group hosted a new FFA dinner and fundraising night with both live and silent auctions on Saturday, February 12th. The event was held at the Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Park District Gym in McLean. The goal of the Olympia FFA Alumni & Supporters group is to raise money and provide support for the local Agricultural Education Program. More than 265 people came together for the catered dinner which included a generous pork cutlet, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, roll, homemade desserts and drink. Tickets for the event were sold in advance. The meal was catered by Wiegand’s Trails End BBQ and the desserts were provided by local alumni. Many local businesses and individuals donated money or items to be sold on the silent or live auctions. The live auction was conducted by Naughton Auction Service. Both auctions were very successful with about 40 items each. Metal signs created from the Chapter’s CNC Plasma Cutting Table and a big screen TV were big-ticket items for the auction this year. Senior, Adam Swartzendruber stated, "We spent a lot of time designing and cutting the various signs for the auction and it was nice to see that hard work benefit our FFA chapter.” The event raised over $18,000 from meals, auction items and cash donations. The money will be used for college scholarships for senior FFA members and other ag program needs. A current need includes the school greenhouse renovation project. FFA Advisor, Bryce Hoffman stated, “we have been discussing a live auction format for several years now. Our annual silent auction at the boys basketball game was canceled last year due to the pandemic. It seemed like the right time to try something different this year. It was challenging to put together, but the results were awesome!” The Olympia FFA Alumni & Supporters plan to make this an annual event. Thank you to the local businesses for donations, community members for your support, and the FFA alumni for organizing this successful event.
