Events - 2008 Excellence in Education Gala - "A Fair to Remember"

The Fremont Education Foundation’s sixth Annual “Excellence in Education” Gala, benefiting Innovative Education Grants for FUSD classroom teachers, will be held on Friday February 22, 2008 at the Fremont Marriott, from 5:30-10 pm.   The Gala is the only District-wide fundraising event in Fremont that promotes and celebrates excellence in education at the K-12 level within our public schools. 

In addition to being a fundraiser, our goal is always to enchant and inspire. This year, FEF asks you to join us for a “A Fair to Remember” as you experience sights, foods, and entertainment that will make you think of your favorite day at the fair: 

• Fortune telling
• Game booths
• Barbershop quartet music by Radiance
• Incredible magic by Phil Ackerly (at right)
• Your favorite foods
• Caricatures by Toby Gross and Wolfgang Niesielski
• Balloon raffle and Silent auction
• Line dancing after 9 pm, led by Adam Herbel

Please come dressed as you would for a day at the Fair ~ whether your preference is a fair in the gay nineties or the sixties or the twenty-first century.   

Each year, the Fremont Education Foundation chooses two honorees to celebrate – one from within the Fremont Unified School District and one from the greater community – for their outstanding contributions to education within Fremont.   This year, we are proud to celebrate the contributions of Dirk Lorenz, as our 2008 "Excellence in Education" Community Honoree, and Lee Glover, as our 2008 "Excellence in Education" FUSD Honoree. 

Over the past 17 years, FEF has awarded 147 grants to teachers, directly benefiting tens of thousands of students in our schools.  The Gala is the primary source of funding for these grants, and the funds raised will allow us to continue to sponsor and expand our support of exceptional projects in our classrooms, with the goal of improving academic achievement and broadening the horizons and experiences of our students.   Many thanks to our fantastic sponsors! 

We hope that you will join us as we celebrate two of our local heroes while supporting a great cause.

To find out if tickets are still available, please call Nina Moore at 510-409-9940.

Fremont Marriott
46100 Landing Parkway
Fremont, CA  94538
Interactive map

Dirk Lorenz is virtually a household name in Fremont, due to his extensive involvement in so many aspects of our Fremont community.  He has received numerous past community and professional honors, but this year, we are honoring him specifically for his many years of support for the students of Fremont, both through his business and through his personal efforts on behalf of the Fremont Education Foundation.  Dirk has donated countless hours of his personal time and creativity to expanding the recognition of FEF throughout the greater community and to giving FEF events a unique flair.  He and his business, Fremont Flowers, have created events to benefit FEF and provided generous support of our existing events.  Through this support, Dirk has helped FEF expand its base of support and the number of students it can serve through its various programs. Dirk is also the immediate past president of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, the Chair of the Fremont Festival of the Arts, a member of the Fremont Planning Commission, a trustee of the Washington Hospital Foundation, a member of both the Centerville and Irvington business associations, a founding member of the Center Theater Preservation Group, and an ardent supporter of countless other local non-profit organizations, including the Fremont Opera and the League of Volunteers. [Above: Dirk at "Welcome Teacher Day", a Fremont Flowers event that he runs every year to welcome teachers back to school.  Students can pick up flowers for their teachers]

Lee Glover has taught choral music in Fremont since 1972.  She began her career at Irvington High School, and in 1980 began sharing her time between Irvington and Mission San Jose High Schools, leading the well-known Thor Throats, a choral performance group involving students from both schools.  Since 2004, Lee has taught exclusively at Mission San Jose High School.  Her choral groups are oft-requested performers at local galas and events.  She has been vocal director for roughly 40 musicals. She was named the Fremont School Management Association’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1985 and again in 1999.  She has received numerous other awards, including a Distinguished Teachers Award from the Presidential Scholars Program that included an invitation to the White House.  Lee Glover is retiring at the end of this year, and we wish to take this opportunity to thank her on behalf of the many students whose lives she has touched and the many community members who have experienced the delight of a Lee Glover production.