The Pensacola Bama Club received the University of Alabama National Alumni Association’s (NAA) award for Event of the Year for the club’s 2015 Nick Saban Scholarship Kickoff fundraising celebration. In addition the club was also recognized as the top out-of-state fundraising chapter in the nation.
The awards were presented as part of the university’s NAA Leadership Workshop awards banquet held on Fri., July 15 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The club’s Immediate Past President, Jenni Pate Buckley, received the award from former Crimson Tide women’s gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson, the banquet’s keynote speaker. The award also included a $1,000 honorarium for the chapter to use towards scholarships.
The Bama Club’s 2015 Nick Saban Kickoff Scholarship event raised $55,000 for the chapter’s endowed scholarship fund, and was matched 100% by the university’s car tag sales program. Since 1997 the club’s endowed scholarship has assisted more than 30 students from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with the cost of attending the University of Alabama. Megan Pewitt from Gulf Breeze High School and Kendall Jordan from Pace High School High School were awarded scholarships from the chapter for the 2016-2017 academic year.
The next annual kickoff event is slated for Aug. 2 in the Pensacola State College gymnasium at 5:00 p.m. This year the club will host Alabama’s head men’s basketball coach, Avery Johnson. All monies raised during the event will go to the chapter’s scholarship endowment fund.
The evening will begin with a catered dinner by The Fish House and complimentary beverages from Coke and Goldring Distributors. Coach Johnson will participate in a question and answer session in a town hall format and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in live and silent auctions.
Tickets are $50 per person and available at www.pensacolabamaclub.com and the club’s Facebook page. Tickets will be available until July 31 and will not be sold at the door. Sponsorship opportunities for the event are available until July 26. To receive the chapter newsletter or inquire about the event, email pensacolabamaclub@gmail.com.