Support for Wright City’s high school graduates continues to flourish as the Wright City High School Scholarship Fund marks another great year for its annual Blue and Gold fundraiser.

The yearly dinner and auction held in the spring at the Wright City Lions Club raises money to help area students pay for post-secondary education, including technical/trade schools, two-year college degrees and four-year college degrees. The scholarships are renewable, and assist with the ongoing education of dozens of students every year.

Jackie Nierman, a member of the committee that manages the scholarship fund, said this year’s event on March 18 saw huge support from the community, both in terms of revenue and turnout.

“It was a record crowd. We had over 360 people,” Nierman commented, explaining the fundraiser quickly sold out of table space when the tickets went on sale earlier this year. “There were a lot of first-time people there. I was surprised about how many people we had that hadn’t been to the event before. We heard a lot of positive feedback from everybody about how much fun it was.”

In terms of revenue, Nierman said the combined income from sponsorships, tickets, auction items and other donations was more than $130,000. Not quite record-breaking, but a great year.

“We wanted to do just as well as last year, because last-year was a record-breaking year,” Nierman said. “We’re pretty close to what we did last year. ... Our goal was to have another good year so that we can continue to give out the same numbers of scholarships that we’ve done in the past.”

Some of the fundraising highlights of the evening:

• The dessert dash, a competition where the tables that donate the most money get first choice from a huge array of desserts, raised over $9,000 just by itself. The top table this year bid $600.
• During the evening’s live auction, the highest grossing item was naming rights to the Wright City High School athletic stadium. It went for $20,000 to Gateway Fiber.
• Total income for naming rights at various school facilities amounted to over $39,000.

“We really appreciate how the community is so supportive for the kids in the Wright City area,” Nierman added.

Niemann honored

The scholarship committee also set aside time during the Blue and Gold event to award its first ever Lifetime Achievement Award to Roland Niemann, one of the community’s most dedicated volunteers, donors and advocates. Niemann is a 1953 graduate of Wright City High School, owns a small business in town, and has served in nearly every volunteer and leadership capacity available in town.

The award was presented to Niemann by scholarship supporter and Wright City Alderman Ramiz Hakim, who provided a long list of the ways that Niemann has contributed to the community. His contributions have included frequent donations for education and services for the poor, along with his continual participation in a number of community organizations, Hakim said. And, relevantly, he volunteers his expertise as a tax preparer to assist the Wright City Scholarship Fund.

“In the ’70s, when our town was in need of a new high school gymnasium, he and many others stepped up, went into personal debt, and helped to build the facility that now proudly stands on our high school campus,”  Hakim cited as one example. “(Roland’s) dedication, compassion, and humility have made our community a better place to live.”

Niemann delivered just a few short words while accepting his award, saying that he is thankful to be honored with the recognition and was glad to serve his community.