FOR THE KIDS
Charity ball benefits Boys & Girls Club of Central New Mexico
Along-standing charity gala has selected the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico as this year’s beneficiary.
The Montezuma Ball, which has been held since 1902, is overseen by Heritage Hotels owner Jim Long, who chooses a different beneficiary each year. This is the first time in the past 20 years or so that the Boys & Girls Club has been chosen, according to Tim Sheehan, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Central New Mexico.
The event at the Hotel Albuquerque will feature a dinner prepared by chef Gilbert Aragon and his team, silent and live auctions, dueling pianos, and demonstrations by children of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico. Auction items include an event package for about 50 people at Tablao Flamenco and a Southwestern ensemble from The Wild Rose in Old Town. Four painters will be working during the silent auction, and guests can bid on their paintings.
This year’s King and Queen are Bruce and Sandy Seligman, who have a Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico building named after them. Bruce Seligman has been on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico board for 35 years and retired this year. He is now an honorary member. The kings and queens of the past 18 to 20 years have also been invited back to be honored and recognized for their service to the community.
“They are our largest individual giver to the Boys & Girls Club,” Sheehan said of the Seligmans. “(Bruce Seligman) started a golf tournament for us 32 years ago that has been a successful fundraiser. … We’ll be honoring them. They’re both very involved in the community and giving back and that kind of stuff.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico serves children ages 5 to 18. It assists about 4,000 children each year at its six locations, according to Sheehan.
“We provide after-school programs to kids during the school year, and kids can come in,” Sheehan said. “Our three top areas are academic success, we want to help these kids with their homework and help them succeed in their education. We’re also big on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The other area we’re getting into more and more is we want to prepare these people for the workforce. That is something new we started this summer and working with them on exploring careers and helping them get jobs and those kinds of things.”