Milan Foundation to celebrate 20th year with Mardi Gras-themed Gala

The Greater Milan Area Community Fund will be serving up some jambalaya, bourbon chicken, and collard greens along with jazz at its Mardi Gras-themed Gala this year.

What is arguably Milan’s most glamorous fundraiser of the year will take place March 1 at the Washtenaw Community College Morris J. Lawrence Building. With tickets going for $100 a person and sponsorships ranging from $100 to $3,500, it’s also the Greater Milan Community Fund’s largest fundraiser of the year.

“100 percent of money raised stays in Milan,” said Jodie Franklin, 2025 Gala chair.

Franklin has enjoyed attending several Galas in the past, last year as co-chair.

“They are a lot of fun,” Franklin said. “People get really dressed up and into it. We have a live and silent auction. We have a lot of games.”

A star-studded lineup:

The Master of Ceremonies this year will be Mr. Dan Adams, 4^th grade teacher at Symons Elementary. Adams started student teaching in Milan Area Schools 39 years ago and loved it so much he has never left. 

As Master of Ceremonies, Adams said he “want[s] people to laugh and have fun while getting out their checkbooks.”

So far donors have provided at least 40 items for the silent auction and Franklin hopes to add more to the list. In addition, they will live auction a few larger items, including a three-night stay in Suttons Bay, Michigan, just north of Traverse City, and a week stay in an Orlando, Florida resort.

Ypsilanti guitarist John E. Lawrence was so popular last year that he was invited back to provide the entertainment, Franklin said. Lawrence has performed at Carnegie Hall, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and the Montreux Jazz Festival Detroit. He spent 36 years on the faculty at Washtenaw Community College, serving as chair of the performing arts department and head of the music performance program. Coincidentally, the venue for the Gala is named after his mentor the late Dr. Morris J. Lawrence, Jr. (no relation), whom he credits along with God for his talents as a musician.

In addition to the jambalaya, bourbon chicken, and collard greens, there will be chili garlic shrimp, and cheesy grits.

“The chef is actually from Louisiana,” Franklin said. “So hopefully the food is going to be good.”

There will also be at least 12 students from the Milan High School Future Farmers of America and the National Honor Society volunteering to help with games, coat checks, and retrieving silent auction items, said Franklin.

Still time to get tickets

So far Franklin said they are really pleased with the support for the Gala. 

“We’re at almost $30,000 in sponsorships, so we’re pretty proud,” Franklin said. “There are more than 200 people that should be there.”

The deadline to purchase tickets to attend the Gala is Feb. 20. 

History

The Greater Milan Area Community Foundation was started by Milan residents Isabelle Shultz, Donald Harkness, and Millard Phillips in 2005 to improve the cultural, economic and environmental quality of life in Milan and surrounding areas. One of the three, Isabelle Shultz, is still living and her son Todd serves on the advisory committee “helping the GMACF chart its course,” said Dr. Eric Peacock, president of the Affiliate Fund Advisory Committee.

“The three founders started the endowment fund together with a fairly small starting amount that has grown to over six million dollars in the Enrichment fund and all the other Milan related funds and scholarships,” Peacock said. The fund is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Monroe County.

Over the last year, Franklin estimates they’ve given away at least $50,000 in small community grants and student scholarships. Teachers, student clubs, nonprofit leaders and others in Milan can apply for the grants four times a year. 

Past grants have funded windows at the Hack House Museum, supplies for Milan High School robotics, cameras for the yearbook staff at Milan Middle School, assemblies for the Symons Fine Arts program, rubber mulch for the playground at Milan Children’s Preschool, a new Zoology barn for the Milan FFA, and a kayak launch and ADA-compliant walkway along Ford Lake.

“Anything to make Milan better,” Franklin said.

Volunteer openings

The Greater Milan Area Community Fund is taking applications for three volunteer advisory board member spots. The current Affiliate Fund Advisory Committee includes Dr. Eric Peacock, Chris McMullen, Jodie Franklin, Tina Walther, Cassie Prior, David Snyder, Bryan Girbach, and Todd Shultz.

“I would like to encourage everyone to attend the Gala and/or contact our group about becoming involved with the advisory board or volunteering to help with the next Gala,” Peacock said.

“[The Gala] is such a fun way to support so many great programs and groups in the Milan area,” he added. “Jodie and the Gala team put in an extraordinary amount of effort into making it Milan’s premiere social event and all of the proceeds will go into the endowment.”

For more information or to purchase Gala tickets, visit https://cfmonroe.org/milan-affiliate/milan-gala. More information about jazz guitarist John E. Lawrence can be found at:  https://johnelawrence.com.

UPDATE:  Quotes by Dr. Eric Peacock were added.

Email:  karenhuntlambert@gmail.com