Around 200 people made their way to Denton on Saturday evening to support a good cause—the Pilot Point Educational Foundation.
The organization, which was founded in 1995, supports the students and teachers of Pilot Point ISD through scholarships for graduating seniors and minigrants for current staff.
“We’ve been fortunate to receive $30,000 in grants outside of the gala to give back to the teachers in addition to the money that we raise this year,” PPEF President Lee Ann Ray said. “… Pilot Point is a great community, and they are very giving to the school system.”
As a result of the gala and those grants, PPEF has around $70,000 to invest in mini-grants and scholarships.
The nearly 100 items for the silent and live auctions were gathered by volunteers with PPEF Treasurer Brett Kuhn as the main organizer for the collection.
Lisa Cave, the second vice president, handled soliciting sponsorships; there were 20 sponsors of various levels.
Several additional board members— First Vice President Julie Holloway, Secretary Lori Steger, Theresa Switzer, Bar- bie Pope, Randy Degraffenreid, Monica David and Melinda Cross— were on hand to help out throughout the evening.
Several lifelong board members also turned out and helped at the gala, including Marilyn Weber.
She spoke of her pride in how the organization has grown over the years.
Her son, Jeff Weber, was one of the first PPEF scholarship recipients, and he was also one of the spotters to help auctioneer Chad Chance track who won the live auction items on Saturday.
“We’re giving back to where it all started,” he said.
Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller, several members of the central administration team and the campus principals also turned out to enjoy the evening with the community.
“It’s just overwhelming, the amount of people that are here to support the kids and our teachers,” Fuller said. “It really means a lot that so many people want to participate and really make sure our teachers and students have what they need.”
Several PPISD teachers also attended, including kindergarten teacher Caitlin Gorman, a previous PPEF grant recipient.
“I actually got a grant this past year, so I know how much fun it is and how the money goes back to the kids,” she said.
Other community leaders—City Manager Britt Lusk; council members Andrew Ambrosio, Chad Major, Ray Dane and Brian Heitzman; and Pilot Point Police Chief Angela Mathews—came out to support PPEF’s mission, as did Rep. Jared Patterson.
Chance was again grateful for the chance to help drive up the total the nonprofit has to invest back into the district through the live auction, and his wife, Susan Chance, was there to show her support as well.
“The education foundation is important to Susie and I,” he said. “We have a full endowment with them, and we just believe in the cause. We believe in the Pilot Point school systems.”
Ray, who served previously as PPEF president, puts her heart into her service on the board.
“It’s for the kids and for the teachers, and it’s just a great thing,” Ray said.
