The Georgia Mountain Food Bank’s Empty Bowl Luncheon generated thousands of dollars with help of a new location to expand the Hunger Action Month initiatives at the new Lanier Technical College campus in Gainesville Tuesday.
The event was held at First Baptist Church in Gainesville for the last 10 years, but the food bank outgrew the previous location and wanted to expand their efforts, Kay Blackstock said in a previous interview.
Steve Mueller, the Georgia Mountain Food Bank’s operations director, said the new location was well-received among event guests.
“[The new location] is fantastic. Everyone who has walked in so far says ‘What a difference this venue is,” Mueller said.
Lanier Tech’s campus allowed the food bank to accommodate a few hundred more guests than previous years; Overall, the event brought in more than 1,000 guests, Mueller said.
Tickets to the luncheon were priced at $30 a ticket, which provides the food bank with the opportunity to supply 150 meals to people and families of the North Georgia region who may not know where their next meal is coming from. One dollar is equivalent to five meals, Mueller said.
A guest count of more than 1,000 people at tickets sold at $30 a piece would mean the Food Bank acquired more than $30,000 dollars in ticket sales, but the organization was able to collect additional funds through a live and silent auction at the Empty Bowl Lunch.
The silent auction featured items from sports memorabilia to artwork, whereas the live auction included customized bowls signed and painted by well-known musicians, politicians, and athletes.
This year’s event featured bowls from:
- Academy and Emmy-Award winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns – sold for $800
- Native Atlanta-based band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ – sold for $500
- Dawsonville-native NASCAR driver Chase Elliott- sold for $1,000
- Local Gainesville artist and CEO of the Norton Agency Frank Norton– sold for $600
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp continues the empty bowl tradition following former Gov. Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal- sold for $5,500
- Jefferson-based best-selling country artist and songwriter Brantley Gilbert- sold for $800
- PGA John Deere Classic and Stewart Cink signed by more than 10 champion golfers- sold for $1,600
- American singer-songwriter Easton Corbin- sold for $600
- Billboard artists and Atlanta-based country rock band Blackberry Smoke- sold for $1,100
- Gainesville, Hall County-based Congressman Doug Collins- sold for $700
The live auction raised in total $13,200, enough to provide 66,000 meals to people in need in Union, Lumpkin, Dawson, Forsyth and Hall Counties. That numbers was expected to be much higher following final fundraising tallies.
Other recognitions at the event:
The event was led by the Presentation of Colors by Riverside Military Academy and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by New Holland Elementary School student ambassadors. “America the Beautiful” was sung by a group of students at the AMPED Kids Foundation, an organization that provides foster children with free private music lessons.
A Prayer and moment of silence to honor the late Gainesville community leader and long-time attorney John Gram was presented by Dr. Will Schofield, the superintendent for the Hall County School System.
The Mike Banks Reflections of the Heart Award recipient was Katie Dubnik, the president of Forum Communications and the new chairman of United Way’s board of directors.
Volunteer of the Year Award was received by Rodney Greene, who is a long-time supporter, sponsor and donor of the North Georgia Food Bank. Greene is the CEO of LaserCraft Technologies in Gainesville.
Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Joe Jensen, who is a driver for the food bank and described to always support the needs for delivery when it is needed by the organization, Georgia Mountain Food Bank officials said.
