The North East Educational Foundation turned facts into funds for their first-ever virtual gala, raising a whopping $182,583.
Business partners, community members and North East ISD students put on their thinking caps for a fun night of interactive trivia on Feb. 25.
The brain-busting event featured a silent auction, amazing giveaways and of course, some friendly competition. It was no ordinary Zoom meeting.
“As the NEEF Gala Committee and I planned this year’s gala, we kept our donors, and supporters, top-of-mind,” NEEF Executive Director Amy Lane said. “We knew they were all Zoom-ed out and tired of virtual meetings, so we did things differently.”
Trivia Master Winston Gaines and event hostess Francesca Santos, a fifth-grade student at Castle Hills Elementary, kept the virtual attendees entertained throughout the live event.
Calen Shearer, director of business development at Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, was excited to support NEEF by putting his brain to the test.
“This was a breath of fresh air and very unique,” Shearer said.
Sponsors also had the opportunity to participate in ‘Discover NEISD’ Zoom sessions earlier this week with NEISD leadership.
Funds raised through the gala will help fund innovative projects districtwide to benefit students and teachers.
Gala Chair Avery Duke thanked sponsors for their support during an incredibly tough year for everyone.
“This past year, your funds were critical to this community,” Duke said. “NEEF was able to support almost 550 NEISD families struggling to make ends meet by giving H-E-B grocery gift cards. Additionally, we gave over $500,000 to campus programs all across the District and we championed Teacher Appreciation initiatives at a time when we desperately need to retain our teachers and show them we care.”
Although the gala looked different this year, the fun and excitement of coming together to benefit NEISD students and teachers was exactly the same.
Congratulations to Schulman Lopez Hoffer & Adelstein LLP for taking the lead in the corporate team category. They won head table seats at the 2022 in-person Gala and their pick between golfing or a clay shoot with NEISD leadership.
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. won a $1,500 Visa Gift Card for scoring first place in the Family & Friends category.
A sincere THANK YOU to all of our generous sponsors and donors for making NEEF’s first virtual gala a success!
Presenting Sponsors
Energy Testing & Balance
Hellas Construction
Linebarger
Pfluger Architects
Satterfield & Pontikes Construction
Terracon
Corporate Sponsors
3Sixty Integrated
Alamo Architects
Baird
Firstmark Credit Union
Garza/Bomberger & Associates
Jefferson Bank
Joeris
KNRG
LPA
MTR
O’Connell Robertson
Pape-Dawson Engineers
Raba Kistner
Rock Engineering & Testing Lab
RSCR
RVK Architects
Schulman Lopez Hoffer & Adelstein LLP
Skanska
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company
TTL
Waterman Construction
Family and Friends Sponsors
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Castle Hills Elementary PTA
Cindie Hernandez
DBR Engineering Consultants
Hilltop Securities
Keith and Sandy Hughey
MS2 Consulting Engineers
North East ISD Council PTA
Norton Rose Fulbright
PBK
Randy and Cheryl Bristow
Zachry Corporation
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
Underwriting Sponsors
BCS ProSoft, LLC
Bracewell
CFZ Group
Ecolab
Frost Bank
H-E-B
Persyn Engineering
