Durango High Noon Rotary Club recently announced that its 13th annual Casino Night – held April 28 at the DoubleTree Hotel – collected $16,953 in funding for its college scholarship program and other club-supported projects.
The annual event is the primary fundraiser for the club, held each year according to a theme. This year’s theme was “Into the Wild,” which spurred ticket-holders to show up at the DoubleTree dressed in safari-style garb. For $55 per person, attendees enjoyed a cash bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, silent auction and live table-game gambling, including blackjack, poker, roulette and craps.
“The event was way better this year,” said Teri Simmons, the Casino Night event chairperson. “I think we only raised about $12,000 last year.”
The silent auction offered bidding for prizes, such as rafting trips, an Italian dinner and Mexican food for a party of 12 people. A lucky attendee was awarded the grand prize: a trip to Las Vegas, which included two nights at a DoubleTree Hotel and $500 in cash.
Proceeds from ticket sales, refreshments, the silent auction and donations go to the club’s college scholarship program, which awards 15 to 20 scholarships to local high school and vocational students every year. This year, scholarship opportunities will be offered to students at Durango High School, Durango Big Picture High School, Animas High School and Mancos High School, as well as past recipients who are currently attending college and show outstanding academic achievement. The club has supplied a total of $31,000 in scholarship funding so far this year.
Event support was provided by sponsors, including: First National Bank of Durango; Nissan of Durango; Aspen Billing Services; Downs, McDonough and Cowan Personal Injury Law; Advanced EyeCare; Coldwell Banker Heritage House Realtors; The Wells Group; Closets Plus; Summit Psychology; Land Title Guarantee Co.; Cornerstone Home Lending; Claude “Bud” Deering; Southwest Retina Consultants; Pediatric Partners of the Southwest; Premier Vacation Rentals Group; Durango Land and Homes; Stewart Title of Durango; Tile and Light Art of Durango; Tomsic Physical Therapy; Cornerstone Wealth Management; and TJ 5 Properties.
Silent auction donations were received from: Morehart Murphy; Urban Market; Niles and Carol Bruno; Durango Fire Protection District; Strater Hotel; A & L Coors; Mountain Waters Rafting; Bill Cartwright; Durango Dog Ranch; Bank of Colorado; Durango Joes Coffee; Environmental Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning; Tami and Pete Joslin; Adrian Driscoll; Jean Pierre Bakery and Wine Bar; Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza; Gazpacho Restaurant; Rick O’Block; Kelly Miller; Lucky Assistant; The Vault; Vertical Chiropractic; Nick and Sandy Blaisdell; Hillcrest Golf Club; Skin Solutions by Jo Ann; Advanced EyeCare; Glacier Club; Seasons of Durango; Sky Ute Casino Resort; and Ken and Sue’s.
For more information about Durango High Noon Rotary Club, visit www.durangohighnoonrotary.com.
fstone@durangoherald.com
