By William Meiners
Herald Staff Writer
An evening of art, dance, and good humor helped raise nearly $60,000 for local United Way programs last Thursday. The seventh annual Arts United event at Alma College took on a bit of a new look in a sold-out event at the Oscar E. Remick Heritage Center.
“We had a great turn out and the teams did a fantastic job fundraising,” said Eli Hall, impact and resource assistant, United Way of Gratiot and Isabella Counties. “The show raised $59,475, with the teams bringing in $14,000 of sponsorships. Our art auctions brought in $6,940.”
The dance duo of Garth and Sue Anderson, from Alma, raised $18,844.47 by themselves, taking home top honors for the night. Hall called it a “standout year” in the seven-year history of the event, which has now raised $389,000 since its beginnings.
In the seventh version of Arts United, the planners decided to mix up the formatting a bit. Both Hall and Jenny Cooley, senior director of hospitality and conference services at Alma College, credit Jillian DuHadway, the show’s producer, with the idea for “An Evening of Arts & Intrigue.” The event’s logo with a magnifying glass and a set with the emcees cast as detectives in their office looking for “stolen money” from the dancing teams contributed to the noir theme. Additionally, moody lights and music, along with the bid sheets for the silent auction, referred to as “bribe sheets,” also added to the mystery theme.
“The script writing team had a lot of fun writing the humor into this with questions answered by the dance teams,” Cooley said. “And the emcees did a fabulous job bringing it to life.”
Hall said they asked the dance teams back in December where they might hide a treasure in Gratiot County and what sort of clue might reveal that hiding place.
“While it wasn’t a requirement, some of the teams decided to incorporate their own piece of the puzzle with intriguing dances such as Scooby Doo, Jailhouse Rock, The Pink Panther, and Smooth Criminal,” Cooley said. “We couldn’t be happier with how it all came together. The feedback we have received from audience members has been phenomenal, especially from those that have come multiple years. They really enjoyed the added story and humor this year. Now we have to see what we can come up with for next year.”
There was no mystery concerning the various artistic vignettes between the dancing teams. Per usual a range of artistic talents from dancers to singers to theatrical performances wowed the packed house.
“The vignettes were wonderful,” Cooley said. “They blew us away with their talents. We are so lucky to have so many facets of local talents to close to home that we all get to enjoy on a regular basis.”
Dancing champs
Sue Anderson, part of the dancing duo who raised the most money for the event, said Hall has been asking her and Garth to be one of the dance teams for seven years. More of a gregarious fellow, Garth admitted to being up for it for years. At one point, he even considered working out a routine with their 8-year-old granddaughter Ella.
Garth feels like the dam finally broke on the question after he and Sue returned from a mission trip to Africa in November. “Something clicked in her after that trip,” he said. “There were things that were difficult, but we loved it. I think she felt like we could do this.”
Their dance routine, which incorporated their shared joy of sunsets and walks on the beach, started in lawn chairs as “Walking on Sunshine” played. After a recent vacation to Cancun, the couple looked appropriately tanned under the lights. To top it off, Ella joined them on stage during the dance.
“I told Sue early on that we’re going to have to commit the routine to muscle memory,” Garth said. “On Thursday, with all of those people cheering, we just kind of had fun with it.”
The night’s winners are judged by simple math, not dance move. The Andersons, who said they set a goal of raising $10,000, even surprised themselves by raising almost $9,000 more than that. Garth said he might have a knack for fundraising. A longtime member of the Rotary Club and organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, he began by hitting up the usual suspects for donations. For her part, Sue provided $50 gift tickets from Pizza Sam’s to people who had purchase tickets.
The Andersons said they were rooting for all the teams to do well on the fundraising front because it all benefitted the United Way. Although surprised by their own effort, they were “super excited” to raise that much money.
College and community
At the end of the two-hour evening, after eight dancing teams and several artistic vignettes, the large check was ushered onto the stage. Bob Murray, vice president of advancement, said, “Alma College is the community, and the community is Alma College with no delineation in between.”
That may not be the case for all college towns. But given the sold-out show featured several acts outside of campus, the event, at least for a Thursday evening in early March, seems to bring many folks together each year.
“Alma College is proud of the work we do to partner with the community and will continue to look for new ways to be an advocate for growth between the two,” Cooley said. “We love that the community embraces the college and are thrilled when we have the chance to give back.”
For all the heavy lifting on the organizers’ part, the event always seems to pay off.
“Outside of our workplace campaigns, Arts United is our largest fundraising event raising unrestricted dollars to support the work we do,” Hall said. “Last year we supported close to 40 other nonprofit agencies and programs in Gratiot and Isabella Counties through matching grants and community investment grant processes.”
Some of those programs support families and individuals who might not qualify for other assistance, but may need help with utilities, rent, or a mortgage payment, Hall said. Other programs support young families or help provide kids with additional classroom supplies. All of it in one way or another to support quality education, healthy lifestyles, and financial stability across two counties.