Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.  It was a gala affair.

People normally seen in sweat pants or jeans, hoodies and uniforms were all dressed up in suits, dresses, ties, and four-inch heels that matched their outfit. They sat at tables covered with tablecloths and real napkins and a full set of silverware and were waited on by staff in formal wear.

Wine was poured, the steaks were served and about 90 people socialized, and in doing so supported Gilpin County students, helping them to move forward in their post high school academic careers.

The Fifth Annual Gilpin County Educational Foundation Scholarship Dinner was held last Saturday at the Isle of Capri Hotel and Casino in Black Hawk. The $65 a plate dinner plus additional donations from attendees will go to financially support seniors who live in Gilpin County in their first year of college.

Before the speeches began, door prizes were handed out and there were cheers from the tables with winners. One of the grand prizes, a mini-suite at the Isle, was won by Gilpin High School principal Alexis Donaldson who leaped joyously when her number was called. A night out was just what she needed.

Craig Holmes, president of the Gilpin Country School Board, said that the dinner was the largest they had hosted. He said that the Foundation will have space next to the post office as a home base for fund raising. “This will allow the potential for Gilpin County students to participate in vocational training, to learn business application. This is a huge opportunity.”

He said that GHS has been behind the curve, but not anymore; that there is a first-time window of a budget surplus to become an accredited School of Distinction. Chrome Books are available for sixth grade and below to use, and for all middle school and high school students.

ACT testing is higher than the state average and teachers are going to receive higher wages. That sparked a round of applause.

“We paid off our bond and can now work on capital projects and will be adding a track.” The list included paving the parking lot, permanent concession stands and rest rooms, covered parking for the buses, and perhaps a larger playground with swings.

Student guest speaker Nina Halsted, a 2015 Gilpin High School graduate, was the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship. She has been attending Colorado State University studying natural resources and sustainability. She said her time on a larger campus was made easier by the guidance she was given by Gilpin teachers.

“I am proud that I graduated from here and I hold that as part of my identity. I have received a great educational foundation from Gilpin schools.”

Guest speaker of the night, Kathy Sabine, Chief Meteorologist and lead forecaster on the 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 news for Channel 9, recently won the Heartland Regional Emmy for Best Weather Anchor/Meteorologist.

Tall, slender and beautiful, Sabine had a warm, personal way of sharing her career story. She grew up in the small mountain town of Truckey, California where she became involved in the ski industry as well as with horses and rodeo. She says she identified with Nina Halsted, that she wouldn’t be where she was today without the support of grants and scholarships. She was the first person in her family to graduate from college.

She originally wanted to be a veterinarian, she felt she understood animals, but realized she couldn’t afford nine years of college. She switched to Journalism and ended up as an intern at a TV station. She says internship is the way to go.

She was persistent and soon was working for television stations in California and filling in on the Today Show. She has been featured in sports Illustrated, Men’s Health, Colorado Dogs and Cats Magazine, Rockies Magazine and the Weather Channel Calendar.

It was her big personality that got her foot in the door and soon she was in Colorado chasing twisters. She knows that the weather is important to people in Colorado. “You better be right on the forecast or you will hear from them.”

With her foot in the television door, Sabine went back to school to become a meteorologist and has been working as a forecaster for the past 15 years. She says her work is all her own. Nobody tells her what to say. She does her own charts, her own research and has no written speeches. She even buys her own clothes and does her own hair.

“I really love it. The information I give is important and I try to present that information in a human way. The challenge now is to be relevant in a technological age. People don’t watch television that much anymore.”

When asked how to get more Black Hawk weather coverage, Sabine said that location weather is driven by the largest populations, but she will be sure to mention Gilpin County more often. She predicted big snows this winter.

Sabine then auctioned off a tour of the television station and got the bid up to $600.

Members of the GCEF board announced that they had reached their goal of $10,000 and probably a few thousand dollars more than that.

Everyone went home well fed and happy, with great results from the annual fundraiser.