Call of the Wild: An Amazing Evening!

All we can say is "wow!"

Last night's Call of the Wild to benefit the Ozark Natural Science Center was a smashing success.  It's hard not to love a gathering of our closest friends, most ardent supporters and enthusiastic volunteers, staff, board members, educators and parents. 

We were delighted to have a full house including our founder Ken Ewing, Rogers Mayor Steve Womack, each and every one of our ONSC Board members and longtime supporters including the Swearingen family, Larry & Michelle Wright, Paul & Martha Bergant and so many others who constantly challenge us to do more and be better - which we love.  Even better, we had a room full of new, fresh-faced ONSC supporters - many of whom attended the Ozark Natural Science Center as students and campers, and others who simply love who we are and what we do.

While we're still tallying the results, the evening produced fantastic outcomes for ONSC.  The Dickey Ray Club operated for the first time without Dick Trammel, but stand-in David Thrasher brought in a highly-respectable $11,000+ in less than ten minutes.  Good thing he has a day job!  Our silent auction offered more than 125 items valued in excess of $26,000, and just about all the unique, hand-crafted and interesting items performed well.  Our live auction offered eight unique items, and all were bid on competitively.  The winners will enjoy a chuckwagon ride along the Spavinaw Creek, getaways to Cedar Crest Lodge and Big Cedar, float and fly-fishing trips on the Kings River and at Gaston's White River Resort, a ladies' spa night at Esthetiques, a private party with entertainment provided by 3 Penny Acre and catering by Greenhouse Grille and a much-anticipated clear canoe.

The ONSC Awards were slightly revamped this year.  We presented our first ONSC Educator of the Year award to special education teacher Ryan Finley from Grace Hill Elementary in Rogers, who deputizes his students as the school's dedicated environmental crusaders.  Our first ONSC Advocate of the Year award went to Cargill, Inc.  The team at Cargill has maximized both local and national corporate dollars aimed toward waterway preservation and education to present $8,000 to ONSC for the purchase of a fleet of canoes, trailer, life jackets and paddles.  Our top Journey award was presented to a very-surprised and deserving Kelli Roberts Brya, who has served on our board of directors for six years and raised thousands of dollars and so many supporters thanks to her passion for our organization.

Dr. Harry Harmon's passing a week ago weighed heavily on the hearts and minds of the vast majority of our attendees.  While it is impossible to quantify all that Harry and Jenny have done for and mean to the Center over the years, a moment of silence at the beginning of the evening and the award of the first ONSC Lifetime Achievement Award honoring Harry and Jenny kept them close in our thoughts.  Associate Director Jason Kindall accepted the award on Jenny's behalf with well-spoken thoughts that epitomized the feelings of many.

We were honored to have Mark Clippinger, superintendent of Hobbs State Park - Conservation Area and a lifetime member, original brainstormer and phenomenal partner to ONSC as our featured speaker.  Vivacious new ONSC Corps chairman Candice Haines of CCF Brands shared comments about the group's formation and recruited attendees for upcoming events such as the NWA Green Expo and Downtown Bentonville's upcoming environmental-themed First Friday.

Lessons learned: fewer stage comments, more streamlined auction checkout, a few A/V tweaks and an eagle eye for some of our popular auction items (a gorgeous hand-carved pepper mill walked out of the room, much to our disappointment).

Little successes: the first concerted recycling effort during a gala or nonprofit event at the Embassy Suites/John Q. Hammons Center (thanks to our friends with the NWA Emerging Leaders Sustainability Workgroup (http://www.nwalead.com/), dedicated staff and the Rogers Recycling Center)!  The entertainment from 3 Penny Acre (http://3pennyacre.com/) was truly exceptional - we love those three!  Also, fantastic decor thanks to an innovative partnership with Stribling Packaging and Juiced Creative (http://juicedcreative.com/) as well as Holly Mang of Brick Street Botanical (http://www.brickstreetbotanical.com/) made the room a virtual wonderland.  Our fabulous staff showcased their enthusiasm from dressing as the Queen of Hearts (in line with our "Owls in Wonderland" theme), giving high fives to every attendee, assembling corrugated log cabins, dealing with minor auction crises and burning the midnight oil with cleanup.

There are so many other things to celebrate, but overwhelmingly, we offer a heartfelt thank you to each and every sponsor, live and silent auction donor, attendee, partner, board member, committee member and our staff for a fantastic event that allows us to continue to enhance the understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Ozark natural environment.  Thank you!