As more than 300 formal attire-clad guests shuffled into the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center Thursday evening, the elite team of hospitality students and coordinators reassessed its intricate checklists for the final time.
Under the direction of Alecia Douglas, 21 students in Auburn University's special events management class teamed up with the hotel to plan The Hospitality Gala, an annual signature event. The group staged a formal benefit dinner, entertaining reception as well as silent and live auctions.
The gala drew several dignitaries.
"Mayor Bill Ham, the State Representative Mike Hubbard and our former Auburn University President Dr. Ed Richardson are here tonight," said Martin O'Neill, program director for hotel and restaurant management.
The reception consisted of elaborate hors d'oeuvres tables, live cooking demonstrations by three honorary chefs, well-stocked wine bars and numerous silent auction tables.
Everything at the function including the napkins, lighting and the signature cocktail skillfully matched the theme, a combination of robin's egg blue and white accents.
"The blue drink everyone's holding was invented by one of the students," said John Spade, 20, Auburn student and employee of the hotel. "It is Cava sparkling wine from France, Hypnotiq and pineapple syrup."
The beverage was appropriately named "The Tiffany" after its recognizable blue color. "The event took a lot of planning, we started preparing on the second week of class," said Kyle Townsend, hotel and restaurant management graduate student. In order to logically plan the gala, the students split up into four event teams, design, operations, marketing and auction. Leader of the auction team, Jennifer Hayes, a junior in hotel and restaurant management, guided the guests into the silent auction room while discussing the inventory.
"There's probably well-over 400 auction items that are combined to form 39 packages," Hayes said. Hayes said the silent auction bidding range spanned from 50 dollars to 2,000 dollars. Popular items included the weekend beach getaways, golf packages and local restaurant gift certificates.
"So far my wife and I have bid on four things in the silent auction but we're excited about tonight's live auction," said Chris Baker, Accenture Global Services partner. "We're going to win something big in that and it's all going to benefit the hotel and restaurant management Program."
A live band entertained the guests with jazz music as bidders browsed through each table. While in the ballroom nearby, aromas of fresh garlic, cheese and wine filled the air. The featured chefs, Tracy Griffith, William "Ford" Fry and Andrew Litherland, assembled their appetizers as scores of guests lined up to sample the live cooking demonstrations.
Over the past four months, Arif Kor, the director of Food and Beverage for the hotel organized a systematic approach to create an impressive menu. "Basically, the chefs told us about the courses they were going to make and we matched each with a specific wine," Kor said. "Since this is a fundraising event, we reached out to our suppliers and they generously donated all of the wines that we served this evening."
After the students announced that it was time for dinner, the party relocated to the enormous ballroom and took their seats for the chef-guided culinary journey.
"To describe tonight in one word, I would say glamour," Baker said. "Normally words I associate with Auburn are joy, family, football and friends. But tonight is about glamour, and it is just spectacular." The live auction featuring travel and leisure items with auctioneer assistant football coach Trooper Taylor followed.
"In tonight's auction we raised over 75,000 dollars, which was amazing," said Hans Van Der Reijden, the general manager of the hotel. The live auction was deemed successful as it shattered previous records throughout the event's 18 years of existence.
"The event could not have gone better," Van Der Reijden said. "It's all about the combination, we had great food, great decor, great wines and an incredible reception with the star chefs." Although the event began at 6 p.m., over 100 guests stayed several hours after the program ended. "I would absolutely come to this again," said Ray Arnold, retired NASA executive. "The area needs more events like this."
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