Our two biggest fundraisers of the year are now over, and both were record-setting successful! Our $10K Giveaway concluded last night with the drawing of the newest SMS $10,000 winner, Danielle Amyx! Together we sold 1650 tickets, raising $21,750! Thanks to all of our families and staff who sold tickets, this is the most we have ever raised in this fundraiser.
Our 6th and final fish fry was also a huge success. It was packed last night. Thank you to our community who came out in droves yesterday to enjoy one last night of the fish fry and to support SMS! Over the six week period we cleared over $26,000, also a one-year record! The fish fry is always a huge undertaking, and this year proved to have many obstacles to overcome, but together, our families, staff, and especially our community came together for the great cause that it St Michael School and we appreciate you all. Thanks to SMS parents, grandparents, staff members, and parishioners who helped in any way over the six weeks.
The fish fry is a ton of work, and we are blessed to have so many people who have given so much of their time to make it work. Special thank you to Emily Ernst, Sharon Bryan, Carol Groh, Brian and Tonya Nead, Jennifer Patchell, Missy Latham, Susan Poole, Devon Vincent, Denelle Purdin, Melody Kokensparger, Gary DeFosse, Teresa Offutt, and Zach Seip who came every week, and in some cases stayed to help all day long. Thanks to our students who were fantastic volunteering this year. Learning the importance of volunteerism is a priority at SMS, and our students answered the call. Thanks to Bill Arn for washing dishes and emptying the grease barrel each week. Thanks to Tim Davenport for making late night runs to keep our fryers working. Thanks to Janet Rockey for baking each week, and providing us with a much needed extra refrigerator. Thanks to Erika Burns for fixing the awesome mac n cheese each week. Thanks to Christy Fetters for helping keep things organized, and taking charge of the phones from open to close every week. Thanks to Danny Polley for sharing his knowledge, preparing the oysters, and all the behind the scenes work.
Finally, thank you to Gaile Sentney and Andy Offutt. Your dedication to SMS and this fundraiser is inspiring. Thank you for the countless hours you have given to make our fish fry the best. There is so much work behind the scenes that is often taken for granted. I assure you all you do is greatly appreciated.
It was great to see so many people from our community, but also from all over to come share a meal in public again. The fundraising is an incredibly important part of our fish fry, but honestly seeing our community come together again is priceless. Thank you all.