That evening, the beautiful Reserve at Dancing Elk Ranch buzzed with the excitement of hundreds of guests who came to enjoy gourmet food stations and live music from Restless Heart.  Those guests also came to support education in the George West Independent School System. They were so generous, in fact, that the 2014 event was the most successful fundraiser ever had by GWEF, netting the organization over $175,000.00.
               
    The evening would not have been possible, of course, without the donations and contributions from the community to create a varied and impressive array of silent and live auction items for the guests to bid on.  There was something for everyone with tables of silent auctions ranging from a steak cooker made for GWEF by George West High School students, to talavera pottery and bath and kitchen goodies.   As with previous years, the live auction saw friendly competition as bidders vied for hunting and fishing packages, rare and valuable guns, catered meals, and tickets to sporting events. 
               
    A few months later, the board of GWEF had more work to do.  The teachers of GWISD met their February deadline for grant requests in huge numbers.  The result was over $150,000 in technology, books, iPads, chemistry equipment, astronomy equipment, lab tools, reading programs and continuing education for the teachers.
               
    On October 17, 2015 GWEF will host its fourth annual fundraiser.  There will once again be a gourmet meal, live music from a multi-hit band—this year Shenandoah, and varied silent and live auction items.   We can't promise the rain again this year, but we can always hope!