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Fiesta-themed Scholarship Gala tips hat to REALTORS® Association
June 25, 2003 | |||||
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The bold colors and music of Latin culture will enliven the eighth annual Scholarship Gala, planned September 20 at Indiana University Kokomo. The 2003 Gala title, “Fiesta En Mi Casa”—literally, “Party at My House”—celebrates the event’s guests of honor, the members of the REALTORS® Association of Central Indiana, Inc. (RACI). “Invitations will carry the Spanish proverb of hospitality, ‘Mi Casa Es Su Casa,’ which means ‘My Home Is Your Home,’ ” said RACI member Vicky Conwell. “It’s our way of saying that IU Kokomo and the Purdue University School of Technology at Kokomo form an important local ‘home for learning.’ By raising scholarship dollars, the annual Gala opens the campus doors to many deserving students right here at home.” The 2002 Gala generated $30,000 for scholarships. Invitations for this year’s Gala will be mailed in August; tickets are $60 per person. Conwell and Kokomo dentist Dr. Walter Brown II will co-chair the 2003 Gala, which offers dinner, dancing, and the popular silent auction of donated goods and services. The Cool City Swing Band returns for its third consecutive Gala performance. Other community and campus volunteers assisting with Gala planning include Janie Adcock, Christopher Anders, Barb Angel, Linda Bielewicz, Anna Chaplin, Steve Coverdale, Minda Douglas, Sueann Emerson, Jean Ferenc, Diana Goodnight, Kathy Harbaugh, Cathy Hightower, Ted and Rosanna Grayson, Debbie King, Kate Mays, Herbert Miller, Kathy Reel, Marcia Reynolds, Amber Stearns, Ann Sullivan, Dave and Jane Trueblood, and Bonnie Wolff. Individuals and businesses may get involved by donating auction items or becoming sponsors for the event, said IU Kokomo Director of Annual Giving Susan Kinsella. “We’ll accept and appreciate any donation,” she said. Sponsorship levels range from the $5,000 Tango sponsor to the $500 Salsa sponsor. For additional information, call Kinsella at (765) 455-9412.
RACI a ‘natural choice’ as Gala honoree Started in 1912 as the Kokomo Board of REALTORS®, the REALTORS® Association of Central Indiana, Inc. (RACI) promotes fair housing ethics, business best practices, and networking among its 250 members. It also offers numerous professional training opportunities. RACI’s generous backing of IU Kokomo and numerous community philanthropic efforts made it “a natural choice” for Gala guests of honor, said IU Kokomo Director of Annual Giving Susan Kinsella. Recently, RACI members collected canned food for area food pantries and raised funds for United Way by participating in the Red Hot and Wild Chili Cook-off. In addition to backing the Gala and other campus events for many years, Kinsella said, RACI has funded the Patricia A. Pencek Scholarships since 1990. Named for RACI’s Past President, the $500-per-year grants are awarded to residents of Howard or Tipton counties, enrolled full time at IU Kokomo and studying business. Accounting major Valerie Guge of Kokomo received the most recent Pencek Scholarship, joining more than 20 past recipients. In 2001, RACI’s Board of Directors established the Pencek Scholarship as a self-perpetuating endowment, so scholarships could be permanently available to local students.
RACI Executive Officer Kathy Harbaugh is also Patricia Pencek’s daughter. Harbaugh said her mother, who died in 1988, was an ardent supporter of learning. “She felt strongly about people pursuing higher education, especially women. She continued her own education in real estate, attending seminars. She believed that it broadens the mind,” Harbaugh said.
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