Welcome to the St. Anne Institute’s page dedicated to the 2024 Gold Heart Gala. This event, held on Friday, May 31, 2024, at the beautiful Wolferts Roost Country Club, was an evening to remember. Our goal for the evening was ambitious: raising $160,000 to cover the cost of a mandated fence by the City of Albany. While the night didn’t go exactly as planned, it was filled with resilience, community spirit, and heartfelt moments.

The evening began at 6 PM with music from the Capital Region’s premier entertainer, Garland Nelson, accompanied by Tim, setting a lively tone for the cocktail hour. As guests mingled and enjoyed the ambiance, we prepared to transition to the dinner and program. However, just as we were about to get everyone seated, an unexpected power outage occurred. In an ironic twist, a squirrel had chewed on the wrong wire in a transformer, causing the outage.

Despite the club’s lack of a generator or contingency plan, our guests’ spirits remained high. We extended the cocktail hour, hoping for the power to return. Unfortunately, the power outage persisted, and we faced the challenge of not being able to serve dinner to our over 90 guests. Nonetheless, we pressed on, adapting our program to keep the event enjoyable and engaging.

Throughout the evening, we expressed our gratitude to everyone present: our sponsors, guests, dignitaries, board members, event committee, staff, and entertainers. Although we couldn’t showcase the beautifully crafted videos highlighting the transformation of the Central Kitchen and our numerous completed projects, nor the slideshow celebrating past honorees and our 2024 honoree—the BBL family of services—we made the best of the situation.

The night ended on a high note, with a shared story that will be told for years to come. While we fell short of our $160,000 goal, raising approximately $108,000 is a testament to the dedication and generosity of those who attended and supported us throughout the evening.

For those who couldn’t attend but wish to contribute to the fence project, we invite you to do so using the form below. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support and for being part of our community. We look forward to seeing you at our next event.

Warm regards,

Sandra Tarkleson

Chief Development Officer

To read the speech to honor BBL, please click on the link.

BBL Honoree Speech

Fence Donation FormDownloadable Donation Form – Fence Project.

To view all photos please click on one, and scroll through.