PLENTY of effort and organisation goes into running a charity event and it was well worth it for the organisers of the recent WAMMCO Lifeline WA Charity dinner.
The black-tie charity dinner, which was organised by the Stud Merino Breeders' Association of WA in conjunction with Vince Garreffa, (Mondo Butchers and Smallgoods) and Mondo Community Warriors, was attended by more than 160 people and raised $77,000 for charity.
Along with raising plenty of money for charity and raising the awareness of mental health, the night provided plenty of laughs through the evening's masters of ceremonies Verity James and Nadia Mitsopoulos.
During the evening guests heard from well-known sports broadcaster Glenn Mitchell on his battle with mental illness, along with comedian Mike Goldstein.
There was also the chance to admire some of the latest wool fashions with a fashion parade courtesy of Australian Wool Innovation.
But the biggest highlight of the night was the charity auction led by auctioneer Neil Brindley, Nutrien Livestock Brindley & Chatley, Esperance.
The auction featured everything from a roll of toilet paper which made $80 to a weekend away at Vince Garreffa's Preston Beach house for a maximum of 10 people, which included accommodation and food that sold for $8250.
Stud Merino Breeders' Association of WA president Scott Pickering said the dinner came about because the committee decided it wanted to try something a little different after its annual general meeting.
"As an association we hadn't had a dinner in close to 20 years, so we decided that it would be something good to do and then we thought we could raise some money for mental health given it is such a big issue in the regional areas," Mr Pickering said.
"People have been doing it tough in the regional areas across Australia for some time, so to be able to have a dinner and raise some money was seen as positive by all on the committee.
"It turned out to be a great night, we raised more money than expected and everyone had a good time.
"It was a great night for a great cause, not only did we raise awareness in regards to mental health but also it was a good event promoting the association."
