Virtual PACA a success

Aug. 31—Organizers and supporters of the Pattie A. Clay Auxiliary (PACA) Charity Ball held onto hope as long as they could to host an in-person event for the 50th anniversary of the longstanding fundraising event.

However, last week, the group was forced to make a difficult decision when they canceled the in-person event due to rising COVID-19 and switched to a virtual viewing option to give the junior hostesses and their families a chance to have a PACA experience still.

The PACA Ball is a tradition for locals and serves as a fundraiser to benefit Baptist Health Richmond, donating the money raised to different services in the hospital. This year's department chosen for the donations is the Behavioral Health Clinic.

The virtual viewing was held on Sunday, Aug. 29, via the PACA's Facebook page and demonstrated the junior hostesses of the 2021 Golden Gala of Hope.

Co-chair Kelly Taylor said the organizers and PACA Board held on to the idea of hosting PACA in-person for several reasons.

"We were really hopeful that we would have an in-person PACA Ball for lots of reasons," she said. "It was the 50th anniversary; last year's was canceled, the fact we had gotten this far and already had delayed it by four months to try and be in a place where the community would be in a healthy place."

"It had gotten to the point where it was not safe."

Taylor said the decision to do the event virtually only came a week and a half before it would be aired live, and the group was lucky to have vendors that they did who were flexible and supportive.

Jill Williams, the PACA Chair, agreed the decision to host PACA Ball virtually was not an easy one with how vital the event is to the community and hospital.

"There were no two people who wanted this to happen more than myself and (Taylor)," Williams admitted. "Our decision to move to this kind of hybrid, the private event, came out of the sheer desire to make the best possible that we could in this situation."

Both she and Taylor agreed that while Sunday's celebration was different than they had hoped, it was a lovely event.

"To say it was easy to pull off in a week would be very false, and it was tough to pull the pieces together because there were so many moving parts to make this as nice as we wanted it to be to say thank you to the volunteers, celebrate the anniversary, and make it special for the girls who have endured so much over the past two years."

Taylor said the hope was the young hostesses and their families did not feel like the experience was taken from them.

"This has been a huge legacy, so obviously there is a lot of buzz and history, and the junior hostesses talk about what a great time this was for them," Taylor said. "What they say they like most about it is learning more about the community and meeting girls that they didn't know before."

Despite the event going virtual, Taylor, whose daughter was a junior hostess this year, said from what she heard, she thinks the organizers did a good job.

"We couldn't be more pleased," Williams affirmed. "A lot of that has to do with the great partners and committee and the people supporting us for anything we ask. When we came up with this idea, we talked through it and thought we planned for contingency with our partners, and we couldn't be more pleased with the success. ...We were able to do something safely that recognized those girls and a fun event in the safest way possible. That happened in my mind."

Williams said one of the best parts of the virtual event was to see the girls in the dressing room watching themselves and their friends be presented virtually.

"It was one of the funniest things as we were cleaning up when the girls told us they were watching the live feeds in the dressing rooms and watching their friends up there live," Williams said. "That spoke to one, today's kids and the technology and how they appreciate that and that they weren't sitting in the corner pouting. They had a good time."

For those who would still like to support PACA in their efforts to raise money for mental health awareness, people can donate through the online portal at www.bidpal.net/paca21.

Both women agreed they would not have been able to pull off the virtual celebration if it had not been for the sponsors and leaders who could help.

This year's sponsors included: Baptist Health Richmond Medical Staff, Central Bank, EKU Center for the Arts, EKU Catering, Koorsen Fire and Security, P&C Labs, Morrison's White House Clinics, JRA Architects, McKinney Painting, HKS, Health Choice Services, Baldwins CPAs, Dynamic Air Solutions, Central KY Radiology, Community Trust Bank, Jennie Haymond Co. Attorney, Eaves, Olds, Bohannon & Floyd.

"The partners that worked alongside us and the sponsors gave us the latitude to do this event in the safest way possible, and that support is unmatched," Williams.