Tickets are on sale for the biggest and most important fundraiser of the year for the Allan Hancock College athletics department. The 15th annual Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction will take place Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Elks Lodge, 1309 N. Bradley Road, in Santa Maria. Guests will be able to bid on hundreds of items, including tickets to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco 49ers, rooms at luxury resorts, sports memorabilia, and mouth-watering dining experiences for up to 50 people.
Sponsored by the Hancock College Boosters Inc., the event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Hancock athletics department—raising more than $700,000 for capital improvements. Donations have resulted in the renovation and naming of Joe White Gymnasium and John Osborne Field, as well as upgrades to the softball field and renovations to the press box in the gym. Last year, the event raised nearly $70,000 for the athletics department.
Doors open at 5 p.m. for a social hour and silent auction. A New York steak dinner prepared by Cowboy Flavor will be served at 7 p.m., with the live auction to follow. The price of admission to the fundraiser is $60 per person. Sponsorship opportunities range from $500 to $5,000.
As a Blue Table sponsor for $500, attendees will receive a reserved table for 10 people. For $1,000, a Gold Table sponsorship delivers a reserved table for 10, plus food and wine service, as well as your name in the event program. A Hole-in-One sponsorship is available for $1,500 and comes with a reserved table for 10 with food and wine service, inclusion in the event program, four tickets to a home game of your choice, and 10 Hancock baseball caps. For $2,500, a Homerun sponsorship receives a company banner in the Hancock gymnasium for a year, a 1/4 page ad in the event program, two season passes for every Hancock home game, and everything included in the Hole-in-One sponsorship. For $5,000, a Touchdown sponsor receives a reserved table for 10 with food and wine service, company banner displayed at every Hancock home game, full-page ad in the event program, company logo on the official Hancock Athletics website for a year, 10 season passes, 10 Hancock sweatshirts, as well as the choice of a dinner for 20 in the press box for a home basketball game or a tailgate party for 20 at a home football game.
The Hancock Boosters Inc. has agreed to help fundraise for a video scoreboard for the college’s new on-campus football stadium.
For dinner reservations, donations, and more information, call Jada Clark at 720-7493 or visit athletics.hancockcollege.edu.
This article appears in Aug 11-18, 2016.