Haldane Foundation’s First Annual Snow Ball A Successful Celebration Of Education And Community

Evidence shows that when you put a big group of Cold Springers in a room together with danceable music, excellent food, and an open bar, good things happen. At least that’s the report from the Haldane School Foundation’s First Annual Snow Ball and Silent Auction held last Saturday night.

It was both a sell-out and a dance-fest. The Inn Credible Caterers on 9D was packed to capacity as 180 district residents came together to support the Haldane School District, celebrate our community, and enjoy life.

Cocktails started the evening, accompanied by a Common Threads’ gallery exhibition, and a viewing of Silent Auction items, many provided by our area’s prodigious local talent: a lyric writing consultation with Terry Cox, books by authors Jean Marzollo and Beth Cody Kimmel; a custom cake by Mim’s Fine Pastries; a limited edition print by Simon Draper; sculpture by artist-in-residence Alex Uribe; an opportunity to sing with MotherLode, a group made up of songbirds Terry Platz, Stacy Labriola, and Patty Pelican; custom window treatments by Rainbow and Pearce; an hour’s use of a Garrison Fire Department fire truck for a birthday party; and a day of falconry with falconer Peter Durkin. In fact, a guest appearance was put in by a live bird of prey, who wowed the audience by perching impassively and impressively throughout the evening and turning down all offers to buy him a drink. The silent auction itself raised $7845.00. Haldane parent and Highland Studio owner Joe Diebboll’s "West Point Fog" framed print fetched the highest bid of $500!

Cocktails were followed by a nearly speech-free evening designed by HSF Vice President, Joe Curto. MotherLode sang a special a cappella convocation, followed by a delicious buffet dinner. For dessert, people danced the night away to the rockin’ music of The Satellite Connection, a local band fronted by Carinda Swann and Haldane faculty member, Mike Klubnick. As not to interrupt the packed-to-capacity dance floor, the raffle for US Open Tennis Tournament tickets was put aside to be picked and announced at a later date. "I think we would have had a riot if we stopped the music at that point!" Curto said kiddingly.

The event brought out a diverse cross-section of the Haldane community including parents, faculty members, local business and political leaders, and representatives from various non-profit organizations. Happily attending and putting in more than just beaming appearances were: New York State Senator Vincent Leibell, Putnam County Legislator Vinnie Tamagna, Philipstown Supervisor Bill Mazzuca, and Nelsonville Board of Trustee Mitch Dul; Haldane Superintendent John DiNatale, and Board of Education members President Paul Kaye, Vice President Ralph Fleming, and Trustee Gloria Van Tassel; and Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce President Jonathan Kruk. All stayed well into the wee hours of the ball.

The evening was also the perfect occasion to announce a Haldane School Foundation’s newly posted website designed by Melanie Teagle and hosted by Matrix Learning at: www.haldaneschoolfoundation.org. Also introduced was the Haldane Hero logo, designed by 7th Grader Jana Barcavage. The logo will be printed on T-shirts for the upcoming HSF Harlem Wizards vs. Haldane Heroes game on February 9th.

After the tragedies of 2001, the Snow Ball was a great way to kick off our hopes for 2002. As people filed out and picked up their auction items, they talked about what they had won. As for the Haldane School Foundation board members, they went home with the best prize of all—the full support of their community for the children of Cold Spring.