The Olathe Public Schools Foundation Annual Taste of the Town event raises much needed support for mental health and wellness programs in the Olathe Public Schools and the Braden Robertson Student Mental Health fund. Saturday night, March 23, 2024, OPSF, along with our corporate and community sponsors and supporters, and all single donors and bidders, raised over $380,000+!!! Thank you to our biggest supporters, Robert & Kathy Brogden of Olathe Kia and Olathe Buick GMC, Olathe Health and the University of Kansas Health Systems along with Centegix. It was definitely a night to remember.
The entryway was filled with excitement to get the night started with a Wine Pull sponsored by DLR Group and the Risky Whiskey Raffle sponsored by Doherty Steel Inc. Guests took their chance at pulling a ticket between $1 and $100 revealing their bid for a rare bottle of Bookers and two bottles of Blanton’s! There were beautiful balloon arches and photo ops created by Olathe teacher, Stacey Coad, with Pop of Color Balloons & Events KC. This totally put the finishing touches on the night with bright pops of pink, blue and gold!
The ballroom at the Embassy was filled with many local vendors including Tall Trellis, KC Bier Co., Cinder Block, Stockyards, Bourgmont Winery, Fields & Ivy, Crawford Sales, West Bottoms Whiskey, Joe’s KC BBQ, Fajita Pete’s, Red Crow, Stone Pillar, Torchy’s Tacos, JRieger, Cake Loft and our very own OATC Culinary Arts program filling nine of those booths with their very own creations. The food and drink were amazing! Thank you all for adding your own special touch to the evening.
The program started off with lots of love and appreciation for our very own Angie Salava, director of social emotional learning and mental health. She is retiring at the end of this school year, and we could not let it go unnoticed. Thank you, Angie, for all the heart you have put into this department. You will be greatly missed and are even more appreciated for the years of dedication you have poured into the unnerving reality and need for mental health and wellness in our school district for any student and staff member. Thank you!
The night continued with the drawing for our first Pick Your Own Experience Raffle sponsored by Truity Credit Union! The winner was one of our very own Olathe principals, Kim Hawkins. Where is she going to go?!! A much-needed trip indeed! Thank you all who participated and provided one therapy session for each entry you made. Thank you! Next was the Risky Whiskey Raffle drawing, sponsored by Doherty Steel Inc. The lucky winner of these difficult to get bottles was John Thomas. Thank you all for trying your luck and contributing to our grand total.
The paddles were active during our LIVE auction part of the program as Tanna began the bidding of Chiefs tickets, a Sporting KC suite package from Azura Credit Union, KU Basketball tickets, a trip down memory lane with New Kids on the Block VIP tickets, a JRieger dining and tasting experience and last but not least, not one but TWO bidders landed delicious meals for 14 catered by our OATC Culinary Arts students!! This was only the beginning as our “Raise the Paddle” portion sponsored by Hendricks Home Team stole the night with a bidding war for the last bid of $100 to win a $200 gift card to Johnny’s Tavern. It was so amazing to see the total continue to rise by those $100 increments to well over our $350,000 goal landing our total at over $380,000 for an evening supporting mental health and wellness in our Olathe Schools. The Olathe community is second to none!!! Thank you so much to each and every one of you that donated to this event.
We appreciate you. Your donation matters. YOU matter. Thank you.