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The Talon

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The Student News Site of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

The Talon

The Student News Site of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

The Talon

The Cat’s Meow – GC’s 2024 Grand Celebration!

Good Counsels President, Mr. John Ciccone, presides over the festivities at the GC 2024 Grand Celebration.
Courtesy of Amanda Evans ’19
Good Counsel’s President, Mr. John Ciccone, presides over the festivities at the GC 2024 Grand Celebration.

The Grand Celebration is an event hosted by the school that serves as an auction for different alumni/parents to attend and enjoy. One of the people who had planned this event, Miss Amanda Evans, was interviewed and asked a few questions concerning the success, planning, and outcome of the auction. Here is what Ms. Evans had to say about it:

Q: What were you expecting going into the event? 

A: Because I was planning the event and it was my first time going into this event, I was expecting to be stressed but turned out to be very calm. The advance team and everyone on the committee were so helpful and organized. Because of that, we did an incredible job. Overall the success of the event was a collected, calm evening.

Q: How long did you plan the Grand Celebration for?

A: We started to plan back in October. When we started planning the auction, it was crazy due to the arrival of students and teachers from Christmas break, but we have been planning the

Ms. Laird and Ms. Evans, members of the Advancement Office, get into the Roaring 20’s spirit! (Courtesy of Amanda Evans ’19)

duration of the school year. 

Q: Did you host the actual event?

A: I didn’t speak as we had the president, Mr. Ciccone, who spoke at the event and followed up with awarding alumni and parents with five different awards.

Q: In your perspective, how was the event overall?

A: It was a great and successful event. The theme was 1920 because of this we had glitz, glam, black, and gold all around. We had a VIP room that was packed this year which was awesome to see everyone catching up and talking. Nobody was upset or mad, and we had no troubles this year. 

Q: If you plan this again, will you change anything for the preparation process next year that you noticed this time around?

A: Perhaps having a great diversity of vendors to allow for accommodations from GC alumni, as it would be great to work with them. 

The Visionary Awards are all special in their own way, each serving its purpose and giving each recipient a different type of recognition. Here are the results of the awards given out that night:

  • The Our Lady Award, for demonstrating outstanding volunteer support, was awarded to Jeffery Davis & Aimee Lebs Davis.

    Auction items for every interest.
  • The 1958 Cornerstone Award, recognizing outstanding and thoughtful generosity, was awarded to Denny, class of 1966 & Mary Roderick.  
  • The Magnificat Award, recognizing a faculty or staff member who inspires students to excel serve, and love, was awarded to Karen Egan Class of 1994 
  • The Br. Bob Arrowsmith ‘63 Distinguished Alumnus Award, recognizing someone who demonstrates faith, service, and Good Counsel, was awarded to Dr. Patricia Thomas, class of 1993 
  • The Concordia Award, recognizing the mutual bond with Good Counsel’s mission and the strong sense of community, was awarded to The Sandy Spring Bank.

Overall, the auction outdid itself in performance and was an event that all guests could enjoy.