From Humble Beginnings 

In the aftermath of Winterfest 2004, two new Saint Jude K4 moms sat around a kitchen table watching their sons play Legos and talking about the recent Winterfest auction.  After a somewhat lackluster result, they questioned the viability and success of an auction without a captive audience. Was this the right venue for a major fund raising auction?  With the emergence of stand-alone auction events among high schools and a few Catholic grade schools, could our parish sustain one? Would our Saint Jude community even embrace it?  

After several stops and starts, the two moms ran the auction proposal past administration and a myriad of committees:  Home and School, Winterfest, Golf and finally, Finance. In April of 2014, the school auction was unanimously approved for Fall of 2014; however, not without its share of vocal detractors and doubters.  Honoring and harkening back to the illustrious and rich history of Saint Jude time-honored events, this new fundraiser was aptly named the Autumn Gala.   

With only five months to completely create, develop, market and execute the Saint Jude Gala, the call went out to the loyal parishioners of Saint Jude asking for their help – sponsorship, underwriting, donations, volunteer, decorations – the tasks seemed overwhelmingly daunting. Not knowing if anyone would feel compelled to contribute to a completely new and unknown commodity, and praying that the Saint Jude community would come through, within a few days, the two moms received a phone call.  It was from Mary Anne Krull, a long-time parishioner, who didn’t know that she had much to offer, but was known for her homemade caramel apples. Could we use a dozen of her famous caramel apples? Humbled to tears, and overcome by this quiet generous act, the moms decided to not only accept her beautiful gift, but to showcase the apples as a perfect example of what the Saint Jude community embodies – generosity, faith, humility, benevolence. In that first year, Mary Anne’s caramel apples – the very first Saint Jude Gala auction item - were engaged in a live auction bidding war that went for $1,300.