Benton woman chairs annual Charity Ball for Junior Auxiliary
Benton woman chairs annual Charity Ball for Junior Auxiliary
When Nikki Weatherly was in the 10th grade at Fordyce High School, her principal asked her to head up a volunteer project to pick up trash. She organized 10 of her classmates on a Saturday, and they picked up “like 10 bags of trash in our community,” she said.
“And I thought, ‘This was actually helpful,’ and I have been doing it ever since in one form or another,” said Weatherly, who now lives in Benton.
For the second year in a row, Weatherly is now chairing the annual charity gala for the Junior Auxiliary of Saline County. This year’s theme is Moonlight in Monte Carlo, and the event will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Benton Event Center. The price for the gala is $50 per person or $100 per couple.
“It fell into my lap three years ago,” Weatherly said. “The president came to me and asked if I would co-chair the event, so in two months, we threw it together, and it sold out.”
Nearly 350 people attended last year’s event, and it raised $32,500 — exceeding its goal of $30,000. The money raised from the gala helps fund the 11 service projects the Junior Auxiliary conducts throughout the year.
“It is a growing event,” Weatherly said of the gala. “Last year, we netted $20,000 in profit off of this.
“In three years’ time, we literally went from netting $3,000 to $4,000 to $20,000, to give you some perspective on how significant this event has become,” Weatherly said. “It allows us to continue to do what we do in the community.
“It is huge for our organization.” Weatherly said the biggest difference was changing the event to something more formal.
“We have made it more of a gala style and given it this consistent identity so that people know what to expect,” Weatherly said.
She said that in years past, the event had been in Little Rock and took place at a private residence a few years ago.
“It has been very casual,” she said. “We have made it more formal, but still fun.
“We added a live auction, which we have not had before. Prior to that, it was just a silent auction. We also added a live band, which we have not always had.”
The band Just Sayin’ will perform at the charity event for the third consecutive year.
“We also upped the ante with food,” Weatherly said. “We have used Gina’s Catering.
“This will be the third year to use her. She is a huge hit.”
Last year was the first time the charity ball was at the Benton Event Center. Junior Auxiliary President Pam Davis said the event seems to grow more and more each year.
“Our goal this year is to make $18,000, and we are already expected to exceed that goal, which will be a great thing,” Davis said.
This year’s auction includes two hunting trips, including one to South Africa and another to New Zealand.
“We also added a trip to Cancun for our nonhunters,” Weatherly said. “The hunting trips went over really well last year.
“We are really hoping those go over well again this year.”
Davis said Weatherly has done a great job as chair.
“I really think it is a great event,” said Davis, who lives in Benton. “There are not a lot of dressup events in the county, so I think people enjoy that aspect.
“We have also found that the gaming table has been extremely popular and gives the gentlemen something to do.”
Davis said the tables are full-sized casino tables featuring roulette and black jack, and “one year we had slot machines.”
“It is an opportunity to play with no risk,” Davis said.
She also said keeping it local has also been a big benefit. She said thanks to the event’s growth, it has allowed the organization to spend more time focused on service projects and less time raising funds. The organization has a secondary fundraising event called Putting the Kids First — a golf tournament in October.
Weatherly said one of the biggest changes that has allowed the gala to be so successful has been the addition of corporate tables.
“Those have gone over tremendously well,” Weatherly said. “Businesses in Saline County have been incredibly supportive and overly generous.
“Some businesses buy two tables as a way to say thank you to their employees and staff. We have a lot of companies that do that.”
Weatherly joined the Junior Auxiliary of Saline County after moving to Benton in 2013 because she thought it would be a great way to connect and to network, and she really enjoyed volunteering.
“So it served several purposes in my life,” she said.
Weatherly graduated from Fordyce High School in 2003. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and speech communication from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville in 2007.
In 2008, she graduated with a master’s degree in community counseling from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. She has worked as a clinical adviser at Preferred Family Healthcare in Malvern for eight years.
“Every day, I see the numerous challenges and struggles children in our community face,” Weatherly said. “Junior Auxiliary affords me the opportunity to effect change in those children’s lives.
“It’s humbling, yet empowering, to be part of the solution, even in the smallest way.”
She said of all the projects the Junior Auxiliary is a part of, she really enjoys assisting with Blessings, formerly Blessings in a Backpack, which assists students with food needs during holiday breaks such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and spring break.
“The idea of children struggling with food insecurity right here in our community is a hard one to grasp,” Weatherly said. “Knowing that we help relieve some of that stress for children is a great feeling.”
Weatherly said the Junior Auxiliary made up more than 500 bags that will go out during Christmas break this year.
“That’s been our furthest-reaching project and also our most expensive,” she said. “That program alone costs us about $15,000 a year.
“So a significant portion of the money we raise will go toward it so that kids will not have to struggle with food over break.”
Other than Blessings, the biggest project for the Junior Auxiliary is JA on Call. The organization works with the county schools and helps provide any needs that may arise.
“Our goal with that is to keep teachers from spending money out of their own pockets,” Weatherly said. “They work hard enough. We really want to support them. They are on the front lines, and they see what those needs are.
“JA on Call allows us to meet those day-to-day needs that kids in our schools are struggling with.”
Davis said a member is assigned to each school and usually has two to three requests each week.
“It is one of our bigger financial projects as well,” Davis said.
For more information on the Junior Auxiliary of Saline County, visit or email