BY RACHEL COLEMAN
Moonlight Masquerade to reschedule in spring
LIBERAL, Kan. — Moonlight Masquerade, the 26th annual party auction hosted by Seward County Community College Foundation, will move to spring from its traditional fall calendar date. At its monthly meeting on Monday, the SCCC Foundation board voted unanimously to postpone the auction until pandemic restrictions ease.
“Our focus is on the Foundation mission, which is to support SCCC students through philanthropic giving, and that means events like the auction are critically important,” said SCCC’s Chandler Kirkhart. “In fact, as the pandemic hit, we saw how powerfully the SCCC Foundation can act to make a positive difference for students.”
When the Foundation board looked at the bottom-line effects of complying with our Seward County health regulations — “which are there to benefit the health and safety of all, absolutely,” Kirkhart said, “we realized that doing so this fall would effectively cut our event profits in half.”
Besides underfunding the SCCC Foundation and, ultimately, students, Kirkhart said a less-than-robust event would not do justice to the donors who have already signed on to support the Moonlight Masquerade.
“Our major underwriter Keating Tractor and Equipment goes above and beyond to support the auction, along with Equity Bank and Southwest Medical Center,” he said. “Then there are all the individuals and businesses that have given funds and everything from jewelry to vacation packages, highly desirable auction items. We want to do their generosity justice.”
Kirkhart noted that auction donors who have already contributed can still count those gifts as tax deductible for 2020, even though the rescheduled date of the auction will fall in early spring 2021 and will receive a letter of thanks and donation receipt as usual. Physical items will be inventoried and catalogued for the event and all funds tracked in a designated fund.
“We’re actually excited to envision a bigger, better auction with a space filled with decorations to create a festive and relaxed experience for our guests. We have several more months to prepare and publicize our community partners, and build excitement for the Moonlight Masquerade,” he said. “After all, there’s nothing as beautiful as moonlight in the spring.”
