It's so hard to believe that we have been doing this event for 8 years. I never imagined that we would have evolved into something like this. Our initial goal that first year was, $10,000. 8 years later we have raised over a half a million dollars! This year Sal's Pals will turn in more than $110,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!
What makes Sal's Pals so successful are the committed people who have joined our quest to raise funds and awareness for CF. Many of them sacrifice their own time with their families to help mine. In the weeks that lead up to the event countless hours are spent preparing, it at times can get extremely overwhelming. All of us work full time jobs and none of us are professional event planners, but somehow we are able to use all of our talents to pull it all together.
This year we filled the 500 person room, we had plenty of auction items and wonderful food. The room looked beautiful! Probably the two most awesome things of the night were Emily Schaller and Drew Tate. And all the while we were in search for a celebrity or some affluent speaker and we had both of these talented individuals right at our backdoor the entire time.
As I sit here and reflect over the last 8 years I realized that we don't have to have the fanciest hall or the best sound system or black ties at our event. But what we do need are people who want to be a part of our event because they feel like they are making a difference. Whether they are attendees, volunteers or sponsors our grassroots event exists because of them. A million thanks to everyone for making Sal's Pals the best that it can be!
