Passport to the Caribbean
The 2005 Spring Benefit Passport to the Caribbean on April 9 celebrated AIS’s 20th Anniversary and raised over $315,000 for financial aid scholarships, faculty development programs and continued preservation of historic campus buildings.
The sold-out event was highlighted by the remarks of Honorary Chairs Roy and Olga Plaut, who co-founded the school in 1984, and a commemorative video. The video, produced by AIS parent Birgit Schwade, featured historic footage of the school and interviews with students, faculty and alumni, including the Plauts and Headmaster David Hawley. (See order form on page 4).
The evening included a live auction, led by auctioneer Jan Bilthouse, which raised $134,550 and offered trips to exotic locales such as Lyford Cay, Ireland, Belize, Armenia, Mexico, St. Thomas and Tuscany. Also offered were unique experiences such as tickets to the Kentucky Derby, The Masters’ Tournament and “Saturday Night Live,” and a tour of Abbey Road Studios with airline tickets from Lufthansa. Private dinners from Woodfire Grill and Zocalo, lunch with Mayor Shirley Franklin, a walk-on role in the Atlanta Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” the chance to serve as honorary team captain for the Atlanta Braves, the lease of a Porsche 911 Carrera S, and getaways to St. George Island and Brigadoon Lodge all boosted the enthusiastic bidding. A silent auction was also held and raised an additional $54,775. Joyce O’Brien, Primary School art teacher, won a Viking Grill valued at $4,500 in the “Heads & Tails” game, and the Wilke family was the winner of the Tuition Drawing.
In addition to the auctions, guests enjoyed a cocktail reception and three-course catered dinner from Avalon Catering and entertainment by Tropical Steel Vibes and Orquesta Taboga. Sales from the Caribbean-themed décor, provided by Le Primitif Gallery, Royal Baht and Ana Maria Leao, raised over $8,000 and were coordinated by Lana Sachsenmaier. Student volunteers Cameron Connerty, Mathieu Van Asten, Cheo Sanchez, Graham Belton, Andrea Feuer, Andrea Valera, Anna Collura, Mirjam Grünenfelder, Anna Lima, Emilia Hermann, Melanie Weniger, Aria Curtis, Kate Mischaikow, Barbara Rossi, May Milkins, Jaylene Singer and Laura Aguayo helped entertain guests by greeting them with a limbo stick and dancing and serving passed hors d’oeuvres. The student volunteers were coordinated by theatre instructor Sherry Weeks.
Rose Ferguson chaired the Spring Benefit and Christina Smedley McCarthy co-chaired. Additional Executive Committee volunteers include Lynn-Anne Huck and Lori Bellingham, Auction Acquisition Co-Chairs; Amy Rotival, Parent Project Chair; Eleanor Ratchford, Sponsorship Chair; Lisa Cannon Taylor, Auction Set-up Chair; Patty Webb, Student Art Chair; Lois Beserra and Betsy San Miguel, Food & Entertainment Co-Chairs; and Kim Cunninghis and Tom Schwartz, Volunteer Co-Chairs.
For making the evening possible, special thanks go to our sponsors Turner Operation & Strategy Division, Cingular, The Coca-Cola Company, Siemens Logistics & Assembly Systems EA and Siemens Energy & Automation, UPS, Crawford & Company, Ericsson, Clyde Bergemann, EarthLink, Merial, NewFields, New South Construction, The Quikrete Companies and SunTrust Banks. Additional thanks go to Active Production & Design, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Hamilton Printing, Print Time, Sodexho, Tents Unlimited, and The Rutherford Wine Company for their in-kind sponsorship and to AIS families and friends for their generous support.