Fundraising Events


	Mark you Calendars! May 19th marks the date of our 2012 EARS Fundraiser Gala and we have plans in place to make it our BEST YET! Scroll down to see photos from past Galas and what you could be missing...

This event is the main source of support for the elephants of EARS and we take GREAT prided in its coordination. To receive an invitation to next year’s event, contact us at (831)455-1919. It does sell out fast so don’t be left out. Scroll down and check out the photos from this year and previous years and you’ll see why so many rush to get their tickets so long before the event. If you’ve never attended one of these galas, you’ll want to attend the next one ~ They really are unlike any other fundraising event you’ve ever attended! Award winning wine, fine food, the live music and ALLOT more! Live and silent auctions, no host bar, a special EARS presentation... all in the enchanting Vision Quest Ranch “very” special Event Site Facility, in the company of the EARS elephants and


	animals of Wild Things. This event truly is unlike any other!!! Our 2012 theme is “Pachyderm and Patriots” to introduce our all new program, “Our Heros’ Dreams ~ A Healing Safari”, a program we could not be more proud to be a part of. Click here for more info on this program. Check back soon, tickets will be available after the first of the year.




	A FIRST FOR EARS ~ All new in 2011, our SAFARI SPECTACULAR was joined with our annual EARS & GEARS CAR Show to make the day & night another one of a kind event for EARS and Monterey County. Click here to see just a few photos of this year’s event. Be sure to Check back soon for information on our 2012 event.



			July 1st 2012 is the date set for the next Safari Spectacular event. Be sure to mark your calendars and check back soon for ticket information.


	We feared it couldn’t be done but the May 14th 2011 11th annual EARS gala TOPPED last year’s phenomenal success!!! And NEXT YEAR’S is already underway!!!


	This year our theme was


		A very special thanks to our evening’s sponsors, we couldn’t support EARS without them!




		We simply COULD NOT be more proud of our decor this year, ALL hand made and accomplished by the volunteers of EARS so that ALL DONATIONS could go directly to the elephants.


	River Road Wineries contributed greatly to our bottom line $$$ with their annual donation of a barrel of Monterey County’s finest wines in our “Barrel of Monkies/Wine” raffle. The room took on an EXQUISITE chair coverings thanks to EARS donor, Enza Aliotti (below) of Formal Creations. PLEASE, don’t hesitate to call us for Enza’s information, we can’t recommend her strongly enough.




			Enza Aliotti of Formal Creations (rt)


	Our volunteers for the evening and as usual, we couldn’t have done it without them.


		Keeping our theme in mind, Earl our elephant mascot was joined by the CSUMB Otter Mascot, a friendly treat and photo op for all.


	If we took your photo with the mascots, be sure to email us at elephantears.org so we can send you a digital copy of your photo...






		And the best decor of course was outside the entrance to the party, the elephants. “Butch” & Buffy” meet & greet our guests.


	Special thanks to Pep Jimenez Photography for the great photography this evening and giving so many people a memory to take home with them.


	Our Master of Ceremonies again this evening was Mr. Jim Vanderzwaan of KSBW TV seen left with his lovely wife, Jeri. Jim teamed up with our favorite auctioneer in the world, Carla Harrison and together, THEY DID EARS RIGHT making our live auction a huge success, both financially and entertainment wise. They are a HUGE ingredient to the success of this event and we simply can not thank them enough.


	There’s nothing more rewarding to us (short of $$$) than the smiling faces of people enjoying the evening. There were many this year.


	“Friends of Friends”


	Lots of love in the room ~ Dan Fastuca & Charlie (above)... ... and w/wife Tina (lft)


	Joey Acevedo


	Dave Gonzalez & wife, Jodi



		Ruth Yore & “Barkley” (above)

Our main presentation this year honored five “SPECIAL FRIENDS” who came into the lives of our elephants in very unique ways. Dan Fastuca, a professional shred guitar player, and EARS director Charlie Sammut met at a Corvette banquet for both are Corvette enthusiasts. Dan is also a Koi Pond specialist who often solicits the expertise of long time friend Joey Acevedo and Dave Gonzalez of Southwest Polycoat to apply a very unique product on their ponds called Polycoat. VERY long story short, all (along with a donation from Specialty Products Inc.) came to the table to donate $20K worth of product, time and labor to give the elephants a secure rubber matting to sleep on at night.

Ruth Yore came into EARS director’s Charlie and Heather’s when she was forced to find a




		Wendy, Bart & Jameson Walker

a home for her very special pet and friend, Barkley, a Green Wing MaCaw. Barkley had become a very special and personal pet to Charlie and Heather. Ruth owns Yore Fundraiser and Promotion and offered to print a coupon book to benefit the elephants of EARS. In doing so, the books are now being sold and when they’re all gone, will contribute tremendously to the efforts of EARS. You can help this effort by sending us a quick email at elephantears.org. and purchasing some books. The use of one of the over 100 coupons covers the costs allowng hunderds of $$$ in savings!!!

Lastly, Bart Walker owns Star Sanitation and was originally known to all as our “porta potty man”... Today, he’s the President of EARS but Bart has always been a huge donor to EARS, taking care of all our porta potty needs and MUCH more. And if that’s not enough, Bart brings his gorgeous wife Wendy into the mix who’s family has become one of EARS’ largest supporters. The presentation of Bart’s award this evening was made by a very special and surprise guest to Bart, his son Jameson who made a brief but awesome appearance. Tears were a flowin!!!


	Once again, one of our largest contributions came from Hyatt Regency Monterey who donated our dinner for the evening and in keeping with EARS tradition, Hyatt Chef Russel Young (lft) entered the tent via “Buffy” to announce the menu in grand fashion. Karen Lauppe (rt), Hyatt’s Director of Catering & Convention Services has become a very personal and close friend to EARS. She and Hyatt General Manager, Mark Bastis receive the credit for Hyatt’s involvement with EARS.

		Then, it was just more happy faces having fun and enjoying the magic of the evening.


	And then, what better way to wrap up the perfect evening than with a little dancing to the awesome music of Mr. Anthony Lane and Band ~ especially when our very own MC, Jim Vanderzwaan climbs on board the drums for a song or two.

All in all, the reviews were flawless. The compliments were overwhelming. The results were an all time high for EARS at a time when we realize, money is tight but our friends and donors shined this evening making all the tremendous efforts of all very worth while for the elephants. A VERY SPECIAL THANKS to those who came back Sunday to help us break it all down and put it all away until next year. And for those who missed this year, we hope the photos above and below will stimulate your need to experience for yourself.


	A look back further...

May 15th 2010 marked the date of our annual gala, a 10 year Anniversary for EARS and could not have been more successful with a RECORD BREAKING $100,000 raised this evening! Our gala’s see a different them each year. We strive to make them as fun and enjoyable as possible. Our guests raved about this one.

A very special thanks to our evening’s sponsors, we couldn’t support EARS without them!

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	Jim Vanderzwaan, KSBW Weather PLUS+ Lead Forecaster for KSBW TV Action News-8 was once again our MC along with his beautiful wife Jeri Vanderzwaan, a tradition we hope will carry on a very long time for EARS.

“Somebody’s Hero”

Vickey Overstreet (rt) was recognized for her dedication and generous donations to the animals of Wild Things.

Our goal this year was to recognize and reward a few EARS donors who we deemed “Somebody’s Hero”.

These folks were special in the eyes of the EARS Board of Directors for their generous contribution of their time, efforts and financial generosity towards EARS and other community organizatons.

Frank Degnan is a personal friend and instructor to EARS directors, Charlie and Heather Sammut. Frank donates his time and expertise to afford physically challenged individuals the opportunity to scuba dive, a program very dear to Charlie and Heather and deserving of the “Sombody’s Hero” Award.

Carl and Charlotte Muia were credited for their contribution to EARS that made the adoption of our newest arrival, “Malaika”, possible.

Suzy and Bobby Greenberg enabled EARS to adopt “Kristy and Paula”, our second adoption. Their recognition for such was long overdue..


		Our new Special Event Structure was everything we hoped it would be and made even more enchanting with the decorative talents of Eventscapes ~ we can’t thank them enough.

In ten years, we’ve never seen dancing like we saw this evening ~ we credit the band. If you’re looking for some authentic Italian music for your event, call us, we’ll hook you up with Anthony Lane and Mike Marotta Jr.. You won’t regret it!

“Earl” the elephant (left) was once again in rare form also on the dance floor this year.


	The volunteers of EARS, the heartbeat of our event. Special thanks to the volunteers of EARS, Wild Things, Oxton Kennels and Vision Quest Ranch.


	And then of course there’s the best part of the evening, the elephants and you don’t get any closer to one than at this event for the directors of EARS truly believe that the best way to solicit support for elephants is to let people meet them.


	Our 2009 Gala


	BECAUSE IF YOU’RE ONE OF THE MANY WHO HAVE ATTENDED ONE OF THESE EVENTS IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW THAT OUR GALAS ARE UNLIKE ANY OTHER AND WE’VE PULLED OUT ALL THE BIG GUNS FOR THIS ONE!!! OUR EVENT THIS YEAR IS was on MAY 16TH and was without a doubt, a record breaking good time for all who attended!!! For information on attending our next one, be sure to contact the EARS office at 831)455-2447


	Special thanks to some of our 2009 event Food sponsors


	Official Wine Sponsors


	&


	Please click here to recognize and learn about our many other sponsors who make our event the success it is so well known for.

Well, the photos are still trickling in but this was by far one of our favorites for it sums up how we get it done and why it gets done so well. These are the incredible volunteers and caretakers of EARs who join together one evening every year to convince over 300 guests that they are really professional party coordinators, decorators, hosts and hostesses. They do that good a job and we could not be more proud to call them our friends.

What’s a Hoe Down without cattle, and EARS director Kenny Beck and wife Kristy stand proudly with one of our more special bovine residents, “Elmo”, a miniature zebu joining us for the evening.

Our host and hostess, Jim and Jeri Vanderzwaan are becoming a tradition we hope will carry on for many year’s to come. They give our event the hometown flavor we our guests compliment us on.

What can we say,,, the decision to bring in the “mechanical bull” was a tough one but choosing the photos to grace our website of the beautiful cowgirls who chose to ride it was even more difficult. WOW!!!

Robin Mavrides(left) and Wendy Walker (below) made this event a true spectator sport this evening.

A very special thanks to Meredith Crews for the use of her VERY special Pink Caddy that has adorned the walls or our tent so many times.

(Lft)Yet another EARS tradition, Chef Mark Ayers addresses the crowd from atop “Butch” to anounce the evening’s menu so generously donated by Hyatt Regency, Monterey.

(Rt) Mark Bastis, Gen. Mrg. of Hyatt Regency Monterey is recognized for his valuable support of EARS. We could not do this event without him.

(Rt) A special tribute to the Shake family for all their support and generous donations to the elephants of EARS.

(Lft) A special moment between father and son as Tony Sammut receives a specail award from son and EARS Director, Charlie Sammut for being one of EARS most generous donors ever.


	(Rt) Dr. Jim Dacus (with guest Lisa Johnson) receives an award for his years of support and for bringing us EARS volunteer Angela “Ferret” Dacus (lft), a valuable asset to the team.




		Our event WOULD NOT have been the same without the generous donation and talents of our special friends from Eventscapes... Check them out for your event at www.eventscapesinc.com


	*Click here to check out some photos from our previous year’s Gala events...*


	Other ways to support EARS

Our LISA MEMORIAL BRICK program is designed and dedicated to funding Lisa’s legacy - the adoption of Paula & Kristi. The bricks can be purchased in memory of anyone or anything that meant as much to you as our beloved Lisa meant to us. They can be purchased to show your support of EARS or the support of your business or organization. We need to raise $180,000 to assure that Paula and Kristi will remain with Butch and Buffy at EARS. The sale of all the bricks in the path will do just that.


	Space is limited and our goal is tremendous but we hope all will participate in the very worthwhile program. To down load a flyer on purchaing a brick, please click on the link below. For more information on Lisa and her memorial, please click here.




		In memory our beloved Lisa


	We really do need your help, now more than ever. You can help make a difference while at the same time commemorating a special friend in your life. Please click left to help us help these truly deserving and majestic animals. All funds from this project are dedicated to the adoption of Paula & Kristi.