You’re Invited to the

VCS Auction Kickoff Celebration

Join us to celebrate the VCS auction season with Mardi Gras style treats, introductions & social time!

This celebration will highlight exciting new aspects of this year’s auction and set the tone for All that Jazz. 

 WHEN:             Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.

 WHERE:           VCES Cafeteria

 RSVP:               Sharla at 503-718-6485 or stinsen@ssmoministries.org

 We will be “auctioning” a room at the Embassy Suites (valued at $109) and giving away door prizes!

Don’t miss out on this exciting event.

See you there!

Sharla Tinsen

Auction and Events Coordinator

A Message from SSMO Ministries President, Sr. Adele Marie Altenhofen, SSMO

What a joy it is for me to be able to announce that we have added three new members to the SSMO Foundation Staff! And, a fourth person will come on board in October! We are grateful to have them on board to help raise support and awareness for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, Valley Catholic School and Maryville Nursing Home.

Sharlayne Buuck and Helen Connor have been hired as Directors of Development and Sharla Tinsen is on deck as Development Associate, Auction and Events. See pictures and brief bios below. Grace LeChevallier will join us soon as Development Assistant, Alumni and Donor Relations. A brief bio for Grace will be shared after she starts her employment in October. Currently, in an effort to provide continuity, assistance and guidance, I am serving as Interim Executive Director of the SSMO Foundation. Rest assured that the Search Committee is continuing in its efforts to fill the Executive Director position.

Sharlayne Buuck, Director of Development

Sharlayne brings eight years of development experience at Forest Hills Lutheran School with her to the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation. At Forest Hills, she established the development position, created a donor base, facilitated fundraisers, and marketed the school. She is looking forward to building relationships, and partnering with our community to impact the ministry. She attended Davenport College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her son Taylor is a graduate of Valley Catholic High School, while son Carter is currently a sophomore. She and her family live in Hillsboro.

Helen Connor, Director of Development

Helen works in fund raising to help people achieve their own charitable goals. She does this by tailoring gift opportunities to match the interests of the donor. She graduated from University of Portland with a degree in journalism. Prior work experience has included corporate and agency public relations, graphic design and several start-up businesses of her own. Working for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation gives Helen the opportunity to finally blend spiritual purpose with her work life.

Sharla Tinsen, Development Associate, Auction and Events

Sharla was a system software engineer for 15 years before she became president of the Lucent Bay Area Club Pioneers, a nonprofit in San Francisco. There, she guided nearly 800 volunteers who tackled community service events. She also raised money for the nonprofit. Sharla went on to streamline a second nonprofit’s auction, and spent the 12 years increasing the revenue from that event. In 2009, she and her family moved to Oregon, and last year, Sharla volunteered as the Outside Procurement chair for the Valley Catholic School auction. Sharla’s son Jacob started kindergarten at VCS this fall.

Click here to read the announcement from Sr. Adele Marie Altenhofen, President of SSMO Ministries, and Michelle Garcia, SSMO Foundation Board Director.
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Please take our auction raffle survey. We promise it will be the quickest and easiest thing you’ll do all day. Thank you for your participation!

The auction committee will be kicking off the auction at a special event Friday, January 14 at 8:00 a.m. in Conference Room AB in the convent (it’s easy to find, enter right under the dome). We’ll serve coffee and treats, introduce our committee chairs, and tell you all about the auction. We’ll be giving away two tickets to the auction, too! Please join us–the auction is a full community effort!

As you are pulling out your Christmas boxes, please look to see if you have any of the large ribbon spools (1 ½” wide ribbon, like the size from Costco). Please consider “stripping” your spools and donating them–we’ll need about 80 for part of the auction table centerpieces.

You can turn them in directly to the auction office or to your school office. If you bring them to the school, please be sure to label them, “Auction Office.” Thank you!

Congratulations to Katherine Kraemer, this year’s winner of the Valley Catholic Auction Art Contest. Katherine, now a junior at Valley Catholic School, submitted art that was chosen to represent this year’s auction theme: Parade of Stars. Her art will be used for the design of auction letterhead, invitations, the auction catalog, thank-you cards and the auction Web site.

Besides drawing and painting, Katherine is also involved in drama, and has a role in Valley’s fall production, Twelfth Night.

Our school accomplishes great things with volunteers, and we need your help! This year’s auction theme is Parade of Stars (think Old Hollywood). Become part of the cast! We have numerous volunteer positions available. In particular, we need to fill the starring roles of Procurement Chair, Class Basket Chair and Class Project Chair. These positions automatically receive 30 service hours, and are vital to making this year’s auction a smash hit! For more information, please call or e-mail volunteer parent Auction Co-Chair, Laura Schultz, at 503-806-3425. Thank you!

Auction Brainstorming Session:  We need your ideas for what packages to offer at the 2011 auction.  Please join us for coffee and conversation on Monday, Sept. 27 at 8 a.m. in the Convent Conference Room AB, accessed through the main convent entrance under the dome. Attending this meeting will count for service hours, and you will not commit you to work on the auction.  We just need your ideas!  Please RSVP to Laura Schultz or call (503) 806-3425.  Hope to see you there!