Bid on a Mexican Vacation and Support Montgomery Foundation

Glassware and pottery, including a vase created by Mike Ferree of Clay Designs, will be among the items to be offered during the live and silent auctions at the May 5 FirstHealth Montgomery Spring Event.

TROY – Several weeks ago, a chilly rain threatened the students’ daily outing to The Daily Mile walking trail at Star Elementary School. Instead, the teachers proposed an internet visit to GoNoodle, a website that features desk-side movement activities for school-aged children.

“The kids were like, ‘NOOOOOO,’” Star Elementary Principal Teresa Dunn recalls. “They wanted to go outside.”

Dunn was surprised. The GoNoodle activities that so recently had been “the thing” among her students had apparently been replaced by the opportunity for 15 minutes on the school’s The Daily Mile trail.

“You don’t see anybody wanting to miss their Daily Mile,” Dunn says. “The teachers are seeing the benefit of it, even in bad weather.”

There are six elementary schools in Montgomery County. Four already have The Daily Mile trails. Proceeds from the upcoming FirstHealth Montgomery Foundation Spring Event, scheduled for Friday, May 5, will fund the last two.

The Daily Mile is an international program that encourages the incorporation of outdoor physical activity into a school’s academic curriculum. Appropriately, one of the events related to the Spring Event fundraiser for The Daily Mile trails is itself an outdoor activity – a Captain’s Choice golf tournament at Densons Creek Golf Course in Troy – to be followed by a Cinco de Mayo dinner in the on-site Sweet Tee Grille.

And there’s more:  An outdoor silent auction, from 5 to 7 p.m., will follow the golf tournament, and the day’s activities will conclude with a live auction starting at 8 p.m. Auction items will be highlighted by one that continues the Cinco de Mayo theme – an all-inclusive, four-day/three-night stay for two in the Mexican Caribbean.

The high bidder will get his/her choice of a Palace Resort in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel or Isla Mujeres.  Economy class air fare and a $500 resort credit for golf, spa or tours (at a total estimated value of $5,200) are included.

For FirstHealth Montgomery Foundation supporters preferring something les exotic, the live auction will also include the following:

• Dan Post Western Boots courtesy of McRae Industries
• A gourmet dinner for 12 to be prepared in the high bidder’s home by personal chef Wendy Cardais of Woodrun
• A Cardais-prepared champagne brunch for 12, also to be prepared in the high bidder’s home or location of choice
• Three to four nights in a fully furnished and upgraded one-bedroom condo at Summerhouse, Litchfield by the Sea Beach in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina; amenities include three on-site golf courses and private beach access
• A watertight 15-inch vase created by former Montgomery Community College pottery instructor Mike Ferree, now of Clay Designs
• Sit-down luncheon for 10 with the cast of “Mayberry Nights” and tickets to the Aug. 5 performance
• Yellow vase from STARWorks
• Blue vase from STARWorks

Silent auction items will include a black & white Crossbody purse; a necklace and earrings set, silver/triangular-shaped; paintings; pottery; a painting class experience; and homemade apple pies fresh from the kitchen of Karen Moore Saunders.

The 2017 FirstHealth Montgomery Spring Event will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, May 5, with registration for a Captain’s Choice Golf Tournament at Densons Creek Golf Course in Troy. The day will continue with an outdoor silent auction and then a Mexican dinner in the Sweet Tee Grille before concluding with a live auction that will get under way at 8 p.m. For more information, call (910) 571-5024.