Bright Lights

On Saturday, October 15, the Midwestern University Glendale Campus turned into a glamorous al fresco entertainment plaza for the annual Bright Lights, Shining Stars gala.

Bright Lights, Shining Stars is a black-tie-optional event that raises money for Midwestern University student scholarships. Guests are treated to live music, cocktails, a sumptuous dinner, and a silent auction in addition to an awards ceremony that bestows honors upon community leaders for their service and students who have won Spirit of Service scholarships.

I started working at Midwestern approximately two weeks after last year's Bright Lights event, so this year was my first at the gala. I quickly learned that an extraordinary amount of preparation goes into Bright Lights every year - in truth, Bright Lights is a collaborative effort among Midwestern staff that is truly amazing to witness.

For those of us who worked behind the scenes at Bright Lights, October 15 was a very long day. Our department worked a 12-hour shift, arriving on campus at noon to begin the process of setting up the silent auction in 100-degree heat. Of course, it's very difficult for me to complain considering that our exceptional maintenance crew had already spent two straight days preparing the tables and seating areas in anticipation of our arrival!

After a short break to get changed into formal clothes and grab a quick dinner, we started welcoming guests at 5:00pm - and we didn't stop working until nearly midnight! It was probably as busy as I have ever been at a single event - working at the registration table and helping manage the silent auction, I didn't even get a chance to see the dinner area. I did, however, get to see a parade of nattily-attired guests in some truly impressive formalwear. This was actually the first time I've ever been to a true black-tie event (outside of my own wedding), so I spent much of the night sightseeing even as we were hard at work.  The mayor of Glendale, the Honorable Elaine M. Scruggs, was the evening's COMET Award recipient, and I managed to shake her hand at the registration table (she made sure to wish my Phoenix Coyotes NHL team luck over the upcoming season).

The event, of course, was a huge hit (thanks, as always, to the meticulous preparation and stellar commitment of Janet Reiman, our Special Events Coordinator, and our tremendous volunteer staff). At the end, we sat for a few minutes savoring the wonderful feeling that you always get when you have worked hard and have done your job well.

In the end, of course, working on the weekend is worthwhile when the result is raising funds for student scholarships. Knowing that deserving students would benefit from our efforts was the best feeling of all.