The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The funds going to the three beneficiarâ€" |â€" The Alzheimer Society of Oxford has ies for this year‘s gala will make a differâ€") received funds from the gala since 2012, ence for people of all ages in Oxford . and executive director Shelly Green said County, Stewart said. , it‘s the organization‘s largest third party ‘"It‘s amazing, absolutely amazing," said | event of the year. ‘Nicole Rombouts, senior development _ "We know first hand how much time , officer with Easter Seals, about the $25,000 â€" and energy fundraising takes and when a | the organization received from this year‘s | group like the Golden Gala committee | gala. { chooses to fundraise for us it‘s an incrediâ€" |â€"â€" This is the second year Easter Seals has | ble gift," Green said. Once the charities that will be supâ€" ported on a given year are chosen, repreâ€" sentatives from those organizations become members of the gala committee. "They work (to put the event on) just like every member of the committee," said _ This is the second year Easter Seals has been a recipient of Golden Gala funds. Last year, the organization was presented with an $18,000 donation. | Zyma. "It‘s overwhelming the support we get from the community, the busiâ€" nesses and the charities we‘re supporting." Paying $125 per ticket, the 500 peoâ€" ple who turned out to the event were | treated to a gourmet meal catered by the Oxford Golf and Country Club | (Craigowan) and entertainment by | The Motions Band, featuring Tan Jutâ€" sun, Lorraine Lawson and Quisha "Easter Seals is so thankful to receive ‘the funding from the Golden Gala," Rombouts said. _ The money will be used to send : children to Camp Woodeden in Dressed in their finest apparel, the soldâ€"out crowd that packed Oxford Auditorium ‘helped raise $75,000 that was «divided equally between the (Alzheimer Society of Oxford, Easter Seals Ontario and Alexâ€" andra Hospital‘s HUGO program. _ "It‘s been a fabulous year," said Linda Stewart, who coâ€" chaired the gala with Jane JOHN TAPLEY .GOLDEN G/ ues p# Aangary It was a big night of dining and dancing that raised big dollars for three Oxford chariâ€" ties at the 13th annual Century 21 Heritage House Ltd. Golden Gala on Saturday. GOLDEN GALA: Wint. Xâ€" * The gala also included a silent aucâ€" tion of more than 75 highâ€"end items, including Toronto Maple Leafs tickâ€" ets, autographed NHL jerseys, a trip to Mexico and a bottle of cognac valâ€" ued at $3,500. ued at $3,500. C The setup for the event began _ fundin Gala goers were entered in a draw â€"â€" Thursday and included the installaâ€" _ they m for an overnight stay and meal packâ€" _ tion of more than $1 million worth of the ne age for six people at the Westover Inn _ sound and lighting equipment, along â€" nity,‘ s; in St. Marys, which was donated by _ with decorations that transformed _ teria fc London, Ont., at a cost of aboutii; imp]ement, uses technology to enhance $2,500 each. | patient safety and quality of care at the There are more than 20,000 | |Ingersoll hospital. Alexandra Hospital‘s Healthcare Underâ€" going Optimization (HUGO) program is a first time recipient of gala funds. : + â€"The program, which was launched in June, 2013, and will cost $1.1 million to The society puts the money it receives into the multitude of programs and servâ€" ices it provides across Oxford County. The Alzheimer Society of Oxford has received funds from the gala since 2012, and executive director Shelly Green said it‘s the organization‘s largest third party There are more than 20,000 children in Ontario with disabiliâ€" ties, Rombout said, and the fundâ€" ing from the gala will "help kids be JMRD Wealth Management. With more than 100 sponsors, the gala gained some new supporters this year. including several additional platinum and double platinum backers. % Lisa Acchione attended her second olden gala on Saturday after being invited fo last year‘s event by her brotherâ€"inâ€"law and she said she enjoys the fundraiser. Having raised about $182,000 of its $1.1 imillion goal, HUGO will put the money Ireceived from the gala into hardware, including mobile computer workstations and pharmacy dispensing machines. Rombouts, Green and Schultz repreâ€" sented their organizations as members of the gala committee and all three said they enjoyed the experience. s 2 "It was great," Green said. "I got to see first hand the commitment and the pasâ€" sion of the group to have a successful "We were thrilled to be selected," said Robin Schultz, executive director of the exandra Hospital Foundation. "Being a part of (the gala) is exciting." j © Shelly Green, executive / director of the Alzheimer â€" Society of Oxford, left, «© Nicole Rombouts senior : development officer with v. Easter Seals Ontario, and Robin Schultz, executive & director of the Alexandra Hospital Foundation, each received $25,000 donations toward their ‘ respective organizations | during the 13th annual $ ~Century 21 Heritage { House Ltd. Golden Gala i fundraiser at Oxford â€" Auditorium on Saturday, / March 1, 2014. JOHN TAPLEY OM1 Agency In deciding which causes it will _ The soldâ€" support, Century 21‘s Golden Gala â€" $75,000 t Committee reviews applicationssubâ€" between mitted by organizations. Oxford, E; "They must require community _ HUGO pro funding to provide their services and _ Ingersoll. they must provide services that meet the needs of people in the commuâ€" _ "It‘s a difl nity,‘ said Stewart about the basiccriâ€" because v teria for a charity to be considered. _ lutely ever anee "It‘s excellent, the band is amazmg z}nd atthe.. it‘s a good mixture (of charities being | ‘ supported)" $ 94 o Century 21 Heritage House organized the first . > event in 2001 as a fundâ€" _ _ * f raiser in support of â€"| Woodstock‘s involveâ€" % ment with the Canada Games, generating KÂ¥ . $50,000. From there, the ol decision was made to .! | make the gala an annual _ | event, and over the next . S nine years, $850,000 was _ J _ raised for the WoodstOck â€"_weres Hospital Foundation. In the past few years, the gala comâ€" mittee has added other local chariâ€" ties to its list of beneficiaries. â€" *"This year, we‘ll break the $1 milâ€" lion mark in what we‘ve raised for the community," said Jane Zyma. _ _ the auditorium into a glitzy venue. While cheques for $25,000 were preâ€" | sented to each of the three charities on Saturday, the final amount the organizaâ€" |tions receive could end up being higher. "When all is said and done, hopefully we‘ll have even more than that ($75,000);‘ said Linda Stewart n aamnaitianes Cook Evan Hughes and chef {XW l Carlos Reyes from Oxford Golf and w C Country Club (Craigowan} prepare |_ * T some of the gourmet food served [ > to guests. 9e e a |JOHN TAPLEY OMI‘Agency > m baby l id ts 000 i 0 h l on caal 1 c i n efi cce t d 5 "It‘s a difficult decision every year because we would like to help absoâ€" lutely everyone" _ ; Tracy Hiuser of Embro and John Huigenboss of Brantford check out some of the 75 highâ€"end items that were up for bid in a silent auction at the 13th annual Century 21 Heritage House Ltd. Golden Gala fundraiser. The soldâ€"out event generated $75,000 that was divided equaily between the Aizheimer Society of Oxford, Easter Seals Ontario and the HUGO project at Alexandra Hospital in Ingersoll. ¢ & SOHN TAPLEY | OMIAgency gb