Last year’s first annual Black Tie Gala for the Buffalo Hearing And Speech Center (BHSC) was held at ECC City Campus. The gala, called “A Chance To Hear… And So Much More” raised $31,000 to go towards the BHSC. This year, the second annual Black Tie Gala returns to the ECC City Campus, and according to Amy Starck, Director of Marketing and Fund Development for the BHSC, this year, “We would like to beat $50,000.”
This year’s gala is entitled “Set Sail For Success” and honors Gretchen and Gordon Gross. Gretchen Gross has been a devoted educator for 35 years at the Early Childhood Center at Audubon in College Park. Her husband, Gordon Gross, was a recipient of a cochlear implant from an FDA Study conducted at the University of Iowa Hospital. From there, he became galvanized into helping the BHSC gain new audiology computer equipment. It was for their constant efforts to give back to the community that the couple was chosen to be honored at this year’s gala.
Starck says of the gala, “It’s not the typical sit-down-at-a-table-of-ten-for-the-entire-night.” She explained that the gala has an open seating policy with the only reserved seats belonging to sponsors. Even the sponsors have some options though – their tables have extra seats. Starck says this allows people to mingle and to be able to sit with people they meet. Though this is unusual for a black tie gala, it is the same format the BHSC used last year for seating, which Starck says, “was really well received.”
Oliver’s Restaurant provides the food for the event with desserts from the ECC Culinary Arts Department. The gala will also have a band, Steel-N-Effexx, which is a steel drum band, and an auction. For the auction, Starck says, “We’re putting everything online.” The website to look at the items and pre-bid on them will be linked here. Some of the items include tickets to Celine Dion’s sold-out concern, a Disney package, and tickets to the Buffalo Chophouse.
The event is held to raise awareness and money for the center. So far this year, the three biggest sponsors are Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the University at Buffalo, and Entercom Radio though many other have pledged their support for the gala. If you’re interested in going, you can download a sponsorship package. Individual tickets are $150 for the event, which is on May 3rd from 6-11pm
Support for Buffalo Rising comes from:
Support for Buffalo Rising comes from: