2015 Banquet Recap
Each year, Operation HOPE holds an event to update all of our supporters on the progress being made in Haiti, Iraq, and right here in the US, and to provide them with even more opportunities to invest in these wonderful people. In years past, speakers have included our founder Dr. John Thomas, Pittsburgh Steeler Baron Batch, Former Atlanta Braves Pitcher John Smoltz, Lt. Col. Oliver North, Actor/Director/Producer Kirk Cameron, and most recently, Dr. Ben Carson. Below are the details for this year's event.
Dr. Ben Carson - Keynote Speaker for the Ninth Annual Operation HOPE Banquet
The Ninth Annual Operation HOPE Banquet was held on March 28, 2015 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. We once again had a huge crowd of over 600 people and welcomed back Dr. Ben Carson as our keynote speaker for the second year in a row. This year's event was a huge success bringing in over $135,000 of net profit so we can go out and reach the hurting of this world.
The banquet started with Dr. Craig Curry giving the invocation. We were honored to have such a distinguished member of our community spend the evening with us, and pray over our event. Our founder, Dr. Thomas also shared a few encouraging words thanking everyone for their support.
For the second year in a row, we held a live auction including a high powered rifle, sports memorabilia, a commissioned painting by Baron Batch, two tickets to Super Bowl 50, and a beautiful 2.01 Carat Diamond Pendant. In addition to the live auction items, banquet attendees had the opportunity to bid on a number of silent auctions as well. Between the two auctions alone, Operation HOPE was able to raise over $43,000.
We tried something new this year, and with the support of Alderson European Motors here in Lubbock, we raffled off a brand new BMW 320i. We had a fantastic response from folks all over Lubbock and the surrounding areas and were able to raise over $70,000 on raffle ticket sales! Dr. Carson was kind enough to help us draw the winning number (#0256) and the car was awarded to Operation HOPE supporter Bill Dubose from Abernathy, TX. As I'm sure you can imagine, Bill was thrilled to win the car.
This year, we also welcomed back Dr. Gazi ZIbari to introduce Dr. Carson and share a little about the work that Operation HOPE has done in his home country of Iraq. Dr. Zibari works very closely with Dr. Thomas each time he goes to Kurdistan and we were honored to welcome him to the banquet. He's been very instrumental in providing opportunities for us to work in Iraq and is such a close, dear friend of Dr. Thomas and Operation HOPE.
As Keynote speaker, Dr. Carson shared with banquet attendees the story of his life from his days as a young boy in Detroit struggling in school to discovering that God had given him the ability to change lives if he would take the time to learn how. Dr. Carson is a fantastic example of what it means to persevere no matter how difficult and we are thankful that he came to share his story with us.
To see all of the photos of the Operation HOPE Banquet shot by our good friend Mark Umstot, click on the image below:
We are truly thankful for everyone who was able to come spend the evening with us and we look forward to next year's event!
Below you will find a list of Sponsors for the Ninth Annual Operation HOPE Banquet
Dr. Howard Beck | Nelouise Canup | Dr. Bupesh Dihenia | Steve & Brenda Johnson | Henry & Sylvia Mirabal | Pam & Jerry Monk | The Overton Hotel | Dennis Quattlebaum | Susan Shakespeare | Chad & Tracey Spyksma | Dwain Woody | Craig Zahn
We would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of our gracious sponsors for helping make Operation HOPE what it is today!