Oct. 5 date set for Friends of Fort Griffin Gala
By Kathy Thomson
Preparations are beginning for the 16th annual gala planned by the Friends of Fort Griffin for Saturday, Oct. 5, and reservations for the nonprofit fundraiser are currently being accepted.
An open bar with premium brands, a steak dinner, silent and live auctions, music, and dancing will all take place at the event held again this year at Lynne and Clifford Teinert’s Collins Creek Ranch.
Tickets
Anyone 21 years and older is invited to purchase a ticket to the gala.
Attendees do not have to receive an invitation to attend, but they will need to make a reservation, according to Susan Waller, marketing director for Friends of Fort Griffin. Tickets are $50.
“Those already on our mailing list should be looking out for our newsletter,” said Waller. “It just came back from the printers and is currently being mailed out.”
To be added to the mailing list, email a request to Waller at susanftgriffin@aol.com.
Music
Doug Moreland and the Flying Armadillos will return to provide live music for dancing under the stars.
Moreland won the Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Western Music Male Performer of the Year from the Academy of Western Artists. He also received an Entertainer of the Year award from the Texas Music Awards.
The musician and songwriter plays the fiddle, upright bass fiddle, and jazz guitar. Moreland has toured across Texas, the western U.S., and Europe, and has been a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Last year Moreland also demonstrated his ability to use a chain saw to carve a block of wood into a piece of art and donated one of his works to the auction.
Stewardship Award
Lereatha Clay, chair of the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission Board of Trustees, presented the 2019 Friends Alliance Award for Stewardship to the Friends of Fort Griffin State Historic Site at the 2019 Real Places Heritage Tourism & Historic Preservation Conference Opening Reception in Austin on Wednesday, Jan. 16.
Clifford and Lynne Teinert and Steve and Susan Waller accepted the award on behalf of the local nonprofit.
The Stewardship Award is given annually to recognize a Friends Group organization for outstanding volunteer service augmenting site staff capacity through any number of volunteer assistance programs. This year the top stewardship nod was given to the Shackelford County-based group in acknowledgement of the fundraising, historic renovation, and support for educational programs provided to Fort Griffin State Historic Site by the Friends of Fort Griffin organization.
Projects
Over the years the Friends have funded research on the Powder Magazine, restoration of the Powder Magazine, work on the barracks chimneys, restoration of the Bakery, replacement of the roofs on the Mess Hall, the barracks, and the Jackson House, providing food for reenactors at the fort, and research on the Sutler Store.
“We’ve already spent over $100,000 on upgrades at the park,” said Susan Waller. “We want to continue to make the already great fort even better.”
As in previous years, almost all the proceeds from the 2019 event will be used to help rebuild and restore buildings at Fort Griffin State Historic Site, and this year the Friends Group is again focused on the long-term project to restore the Sutler Store at the historic calvary fort.
Archeological research must be completed before any actual restoration construction can be approved by the Texas Historical Commission.
“It’s a big project, but it’s going to be so cool when it is finished!” Waller said.
The envisioned project, when completed, will include a rebuilt Sutler Store with period correct items stocking the shelves, a rebuilt officer’s club, and eventually other outbuildings that were originally included in the Sutler Store complex.
“Research on the original design has been especially difficult because although the Sutler Store was in the fort complex, it was privately owned,” Waller said. “We’ve found drawings of the store and a handful of photos from 1930. We would love to find blueprints, even older photos, and any drawings from when the store was in use.”
Donations
The Friends of Fort Griffin organization is an approved 501(c)(3) entity. Organizations classified by 501(c)(3) are commonly referred to as charitable organizations, and are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
For more information, call Waller at 325-762-2699 or mail checks to Friends of Fort Griffin, PO Box 2154, Albany TX 76430.
