Recently I posted about being asked to MC a fundraising luncheon. Based on the popularity of the post I expect there are people who read the post who wondered how it went. I also expect some people liked the post without even reading it. I’ll take what I can get.
To quickly recap, my friend Stacy Sollenberger asked me a HUGE favor, which was to serve as the MC for Emerge Scholarships’ annual fundraising luncheon and celebration in Atlanta. Emerge Scholarships, as the name would indicate, offers scholarships to badass women who have had their educations interrupted by all sorts of challenges that life has thrown their way.
I am thrilled to say the event was a great success. I didn’t trip or fall off the stage (although I was prepared with a line in case that happened). There was very little booing. However, there were some boo-like sounds when I dropped this line in my welcoming remarks:
‘This will be a great event if you are out of here by 1pm. I will make that happen. Because everyone knows that in Atlanta, we don’t like it when our events go into overtime.’
Stacy told me I would meet some amazing people at the event. And I did. The co-chair and Keynote Speaker, Jill Ratliff of Empowerhouse Leadership Consultancy is a total powerhouse who rocks lavender streaks in her hair. The woman in charge of pulling the event together, Latasha Smith-Emeri, from Coca-Cola, was so badass and bulletproof in her planning and organizing of the event that I would raise my hand to work with her, anywhere, anytime. Stacy, who is a total professional and an amazing friend to everyone, was special to see in action. She was thoughtful and kind to everyone involved (she also treated me to a Frito Burrito afterwards, so bonus points for SS). Amy Critzer of Meeting Expectations met every expectations in taking care of all the random things that needed to be done to pull off the event.
But best of all, we did what we set out to do. Which is raise money to help provide more scholarships. We set a goal of raising $30,000. As the final bell rang at 1pm we had raised $33,300. Donations have continued to come in. The current total is over $35,000. You can see the latest total here.
It was extremely rewarding to help these strong, determined and inspiring women and such a great cause. I was proud to see so many of my friends at the event, getting involved and contributing. I encourage you to get involved in something bigger than yourself. Something that pays you back internally. And maybe in the next life. Thanks again to Emerge Scholarships for asking me to play. Now let’s cut this off before it goes into overtime.
Adam Albrecht Blog 