Joe White, former Allan Hancock College basketball coach and athletic director during the 1970s, helped to establish an athletic program that encourages student-athletes to excel both on and off the field.
To honor White and all he did for AHC Athletics, the AHC Boosters Inc. is getting ready to hold its 11th annual Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction.
Scheduled for Aug. 18 at the Santa Maria Fairpark Pavilion, the event includes a social hour, a silent auction and live auction, and dinner catered by Bill and Sue Ruiz of Cowboy Flavor.
Proceeds from the auction go to the AHC Boosters Inc. program; the money is put toward making improvements to athletic facilities. According to the college, this event has managed to raise an impressive $525,000 in donations over the years.
With these funds, the college was able to build and complete the Joe White gymnasium; buy scoreboards, spectator bleachers, new floors, and a sound system; and make renovations to both the softball and baseball fields.
This year’s auction event includes such tantalizing prizes as four Dodgers tickets, dinner tickets to the Hitching Post in Casmalia, a donated beach house, and personalized hitting and pitching lessons from local Bryn Smith. According to the college’s public information assistant, Sarah Thien, businesses and Hancock alumni donate most of the prizes.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by a social hour, silent auction, and dinner served promptly at 7 p.m. For more information or reservations, call Donna Pollizi at 598-4840.
This article appears in Jul 19-26, 2012.