A Thousand Thanks!
At the Thousand Words Photography Project Gala on Saturday night, we celebrated the accomplishments of our ten teams of photographers who set out last summer to share their perspectives on the theme of “LOVE”. Since then, the team members of all abilities have learned and taught each other a lot about photography, friendship, courage, adventure and so much more. The teams selected their best images to be professionally printed and sold in a silent auction at the Gala.
It was a night to remember – everyone got dressed up and family, friends and community supporters came to see the work of the teams. Every detail was in place – great music, delicious food, beautiful decorations, the red carpet, incredible guest speakers and vocalists. We had an extraordinary time at the Gala and were in awe of the beautiful images that were captured.
But, the work began long before the celebration on Saturday and I want to share with you some of the people working behind the scenes to make both the Photography Project and the Gala amazing!
Amy Hillis – Amy is the coordinator of the A Thousand Words Photography Project. She volunteers 100% of her time to this effort and she works on it all the time! After attending the Thousand Words Gala in 2015, Amy was hooked and loved the idea of the project. She took the lead later in 2015 and through her leadership, the program has grown in size and in scope.
Under Amy’s passionate leadership, Thousand Words photos have been on display at the Bowen Center for the Arts, Chestatee Regional Hospital, Shenangian’s Irish Pub in Dahlonega and at the ConnectAbility office. Amy has worked tirelessly to get these images and their stories out to as many people as possible. The teams have benefitted from her leadership as well. Travelling by bus to the High Museum of Art was the highlight of the summer for many of our photographers last year. My heart swells to hear of the exciting plans Amy has for the upcoming year!
Amy puts her heart and soul into the Thousand Words Photography Project and has done an incredible job building relationships with UNG students and faculty members as well as in the community. I often get an email, phone call or text from Amy at various times of the day with a brainstorm, idea or question about Thousand Words.
It is astonishing how much time and energy Amy willingly gives for the Project and for that I am truly grateful! Please join me in recognizing Amy’s accomplishments with the A Thousand Words Photography Project.
When it comes to saying THANK YOU for a fabulous evening at the Gala, Julianne Kowalski is the one to thank. With her talent for creative thinking, big vision and dedication to the task, Julianne’s leadership has brought the Thousand Words Gala from a small dinner to a big, exciting and tremendously impactful event.
Julianne has dreamed for years about hosting a large community event and inviting her sister Melissa Peterman (aka Barbara Jean on the Reba show and Bonnie on NBC’s Baby Daddy) to come to Dahlonega from sunny Los Angeles. Thankfully, this year Melissa’s schedule allowed her to join our Thousand Words Gala and she added so much fun and excitement to our celebration. She kept us all laughing and did such a wonderful job reminding us of why we were all gathered – to celebrate our photographers!
Julianne’s eye for detail brought so many special touches to the evening. From the red carpet with photos & interviews to the amazing details of the centerpieces and décor, Julianne did such a great job making every guest feel like they had come to a Hollywood event right here in North Georgia.
It is hard to comprehend how many hours over weeks and months Julianne dedicated to making the Gala spectacular. She worked closely with volunteers Vicki Schweitzer, Elizabeth Henderson and others to make everything just right to celebrate our photographers and their accomplishments.
We had a small army of volunteers at the event as well making the experience special from valet parking to check in to photography. Thank you all!
A special thanks as well to our event sponsors and supporters:
Kevin Tharpe, Attorney
Anderson Advisors
Deb Rowe with Shenanigan’s Irish Pub & Bourbon Street Grill
R-Ranch & Events by Dezine Catering
Chuck Bell Music
App Studios
And of course, a wonderful event would be pointless without our guests! Thank you to each person who purchased a ticket, attended the event, gave generously in our auctions and offered encouragement and support to our teams. We are inspired to share even more stories and capture even more amzing images in the coming year.
Together, we all raised $35,500 for ConnectAbility! Each dollar will go directly into our community to accomplish our mission of creating communities where individuals of all abilities are valued, included and empowered.
We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words. That’s especially true for our photography teams. But I want to offer a thousand thanks to the wonderful team who made our night of celebration legendary.
THANK YOU!