The annual Santiam Scholarship Banquet was a great success on May 6, with the live auction bringing in $48,000 on 17 oral auction items.
The theme of this year’s event was the Wild West. Superintendent Todd Miller was the Sheriff for the night as the master of ceremonies and Kody Bennett, a professional auctioneer from Idaho, called the live auction.
Dinner was prepared by the Santiam Culinary Program, headed by Alicia Boyd. The sides prepared were cornbread muffins, coleslaw, potato salad, homemade mac and cheese and baked beans. Pulled pork and brisket were catered through Famous Dave’s BBQ.
“We truly feel that was the best meal we have ever had at these banquets. And it was even better that the high school students made it,” commented a guest.
As always, the Santiam CTE Program’s items were highly desired, especially a wine barrel bar built by Mason Lindemann & Payte Hansen. The bar fetched $6,000 from the lucky bidder.
A new addition to this year’s scholarship banquet was the “Lucky Penny Ticket.” Guests had the chance to purchase a Lucky Penny Ticket for $50, giving the winner the opportunity to claim any one of the oral auction items before the bidding. There were only 100 Lucky Penny tickets sold, and the winner chose the 10-day stay in Kauai.
“Special thanks goes to all the donors who gave items or funds to make this year’s event such a success,” Madeline Wilson, language arts teach at Santiam Jr./Sr. High said. “You make a difference in the lives of the 27 graduates who applied for this scholarship.”
