On January 25th, the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt was transformed with wattle, gum and twinkling lights into an Outback night, and 425 guests enjoyed a gourmet dinner, Australian entertainment, and dancing until 2 am.
Financials are still being finalised, but our auctions seem to have brought in record amounts. The silent auction was quite competitive with people opening their wallets for a good cause and great items including sports memorabilia, fine art, travel and dining. Sambo our auctioneer got the house excited and brought the live auction to a head with a 2 million yen winning bid on a last-minute donation of accommodation & dining from the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. I think our charities will be quite pleased with the generosity you all have shown.
Photos of the evening are available for free download from photographer Martine Cotton's website. Prints are available at cost and you can order online at http://martinecotton.smugmug.com/Events.