EATON — Preble County Commissioners are discussing whether they will host an annual Commissioner’s Charity Ball this year. During the board’s meeting on Monday, March 4, Commissioner Rodney Creech proposed planning a fundraising event for the Expo Expansion project instead.
The conversation began when Administrative Assistant Julie Miller mentioned calling Hueston Woods for a date. She stated, the board needs to decide if and when they want to hold the annual ball.
Commissioner Creech proposed not holding the ball and instead hosting an event at the Expo Expansion building.
“I’ve thought about this a little bit and I don’t know if this is a good idea or a horrible one, but we’re trying to do stuff at the Fairgrounds, instead of hosting the Commissioners’ Ball can we hold a big event? I’m talking a very nice event and have a fundraiser for the Expo Addition, because a lot of times we’re tapping into the same resources,” he said.
“Say we raised $25,000 for three different charities, we take that and put it towards [the Expo Expansion]. I think we can do a lot better than that and we’re not tapping into the same people. It wouldn’t be a Commissioners’ Ball, but it would be something we could put on.
“The Commissioners’ Ball is amazing and I’m all for doing it again, but I thought maybe mix things up and have something at the Fairgrounds, where we could have several hundred people there. I think we could have a killer event.”
Miller countered, it could be expensive to cater and bring food into the Fairgrounds.
“These are two different events and I could totally see us doing something in the summer and this not just being our thing,” Commissioner Denise Robertson said. “These are two separate issues. Do we want to host the Commissioners’ Ball? It doesn’t have to be either/or.
“The Commissioners’ Ball can be in October and I can see something happening for the fundraiser in the summer. I like the idea of having a full day of bands and selling tickets. The food can be something simple.”
Creech proposed doing the building auction at the same event, which is an idea he has been discussing for awhile. They would auction off naming rights of the Fairgrounds buildings, to raise money for upkeep of the Fairgrounds.
However, both Creech and Miller recommended only hosting the Commissioners’ Ball or the fundraising event this year.
“If we have both events they are going to be two average events. Because you can’t ask someone for $5,000 and then turn around and ask them for an additional $5,000,” Creech said. “If we want to do the Commissioners’ Ball I will support it 100 percent and continue to ask people like we have in the past. Coming from the business side and understand that everyone is tapping, I’m trying to make it one less tap.”
Commissioner Chris Day was out of the office for the day, so the remaining board members decided to discuss the issue with him when he returned.
