Dance the Night Away...

Last weekend was the Cleveland Junior Auxiliary Charity Ball (CBB for those in the know, which, now you are).  The members of JA spend a lot of time getting ready for this event- its the only fundraising event we have each year.  This year about 700 people attended.  The only place big enough was the Bolivar County Expo Center- its used for lots of events in the community, including livestock shows.  Yep, that's right, the floor is actually dirt. 

Last year, as a new transfer member, I was warned about the Expo Center- its very basic and, when you first walk in, its unbelievable that anyone would be willing to pay money to wear a nice outfit and come to a party here:

Walking in and beginning to unload the first things off the truck.

The best part?  That Delta State's fraternities help us do a lot of the heavy work- its so nice to be like, "hey, you, go get that sign and bring it to me while I stand here and drink my Diet Coke."  Its less nice to get called "ma'am" a zillion times. 

Sparse and ugly- but it turns out to be beautiful once you get 40 JA women to work their magic.  This carpet is put down so we won't be walking on the dirt ground!

But I was also promised that, at the end, it would be transformed into a beautiful place to hold such a huge event.  You know what?  They were right.  Last year, I saw pictures from previous Charity Ball's but it was nothing compared to watching it change before my eyes.  Last year, I helped a lot in that transformation.  We are required to help a significant amount and last year, I was able to come and help a lot more than even the requirement.  This year was different.  Work has been super busy lately, and I was unable to participate as much as I'd wanted.  Further, I was basically useless- my knees and lack of stamina precluded me from helping in almost any task.  I couldn't stand up for long periods of time (or any period of time, really), couldn't walk around much, couldn't get up and down from a chair or the ground very often.  Essentially, I was forced to either work from a chair or not participate.  The first night I helped, I realized that neither option was great- even doing what little work I did that night caused my knees to hurt badly the next day.  I decided to do what I could, which wasn't much. 

Not to brag or anything, but yours truly was not just a committee member, but the CHAIR of the Coat Check Committee.  Yep, you read that correctly.  Despite my numerous attempts to secure a less ludicrous committe name, I was the committee chair AND sole committee member.  Despite its name, the Coat Check Committee actually does have non-outerwear related responsibilities including the valet, handling of risers and podiums, pictures, etc.  Its a whole bunch of small jobs. Plus, it was really cold that night so its an important job. 

All committees were required to meet at least twice to discuss CBB.  As the only member of my committee, I didn't have much of a problem with this.  Need to have a committee meeting?  I have those every minute of everyday.  Technically, my committee met all the time.  I discussed things with myself pretty much daily, and only had a couple minor conflicts with myself about things. 

As promised, the Charity Ball came together nicely and the decorations were beautiful.  The theme was "Winter Wonderland".  Here are a couple pictures I snapped the night of:

The entrance table, not too far from the most important table.. the Coat Check Table.

Really pretty, right?

Some of the Silent Auction- I scored a really pretty pave diamond necklace!

My friend Mark who accompanied me.  He also scored two nice framed pictures in the silent auction.  I love silent auctions- its the perfect blend of my competitive spirit and my love of shopping.