Thank you, thank you, thank you: Our 2010 Spring Fundraising Gala was a big success!

What an evening it's been!

Before I fall asleep from exhaustion, I want to take a moment to thank all of the wonderful people who journeyed to Mercer Island to attend our 2010 Spring Fundraising Gala. I'm happy to report the event went as well as we had hoped.

Our speakers were fantastic, ʻOhana provided delicious food, and the Shoreline Jazz Ensemble entertained us with relaxing tunes. Everybody who wanted to take home a bag of Cosmos Caramel Corn was able to.

We were joined by many elected officials, two of whom spoke (King County Executive Dow Constantine, State Representative Hans Dunshee), and several who helped with the event as part of our host committee (Senator Eric Oemig, Representative Dave Upthegrove, Representative Scott White, Redmond City Councilmember Kim Allen, Kirkland City Councilmember Jessica Greenway).

We were also honored to have Representative Marcie Maxwell (who succeeded Fred Jarrett) with us; the event took place in her district.

Thanks to those of you who came, NPI's financial footing is much more solid. We're still tallying contributions, but we already know that we did well. Words can't express how grateful we are for your support and your generosity.

We're going to start planning the 2011 gala soon (next year's won't be in June!), so that we can build on what worked and improve what could have worked better. Expect to get a "Save the Date" announcement very soon after the new year. Putting together events takes a lot of work, but we're getting better at it, and learning as we go. If you have suggestions for next year, please let us know. We'd like you to share any input you might have with us.