“A beautiful evening!”
“Marvelous”
“Loved it…just fantastic”
“We had a great time and so did our guests”
“Praise the Lord for all this evening brought to our school”
These are just a few of the sentiments shared after Jim Elliot Christian High School’s annual dinner auction fundraiser – Denim, Diamonds & Dreams. 
Held on Friday April 24 at the Lexington Waterfront Hotel in Stockton, guests began to arrive early and were greeted to festive sights and sounds as the event got underway. The Cambell Creek Gang, a bluegrass band, was in the lobby greeting the JECHS family with upbeat and entertaining music as they began to pour over the multitudes of silent auction items that had been donated for the fundraiser. They were dressed in sparkly denim jeans and jackets and adorned with flashy “bling” as they enjoyed the fun and fellowship that Jim Elliot get togethers always provide.
After greeting friends and bidding on the hundreds of auction items, guests filtered into the Grand Ballroom of the hotel to be seated at beautifully decorated tables that were adorned with centerpieces created by our volunteer parents under the direction of Guidance Counselor, Carrie Fox. 
Handcrafted napkin rings made by Mr Mike Tackett’s ceramics class were a part of the table settings. ”Dreaming big dreams for Jim Elliot Christian High School” was the tag line of the event and at each place setting was a small piece of designer paper with a dream of one of our students or staff members printed on the velum. It was inspiring, touching and amazing to read the wonderful personal dreams as well as dreams and goals that abound for Jim Elliot as a school. Here are a few examples:
“My dream is to become a physician and go into the mission field and offer medical services to third world countries” Brooks Coussons, 17
“I would like to return to JECHS after college and be a teacher here and help further the goals of the school.” Evan Hust, 14
“My dream is to open a high end restaurant in the heart of a big city. To also help older foster kids find a home.” Russel Hausauer, 17
“My dream is to see a passion for God and others ignited at school. I hope that when we gradusate from JECHS we would set out to be world changers.” Anna Shannon, 15
“My dream is to live my life according to God’s will and to give everything back to Him.” Emily Buhrkhul, 15
After a greeting and blessing for the meal by our Principal, David Couchman a delicious dinner was served followed by a short program that consisted of:
- a highlight of our upcoming play Beauty and the Beast was performed under the direction of drama teacher, Sherrolyn Elmore.
- honoring our “Volunteer of the Year” which went to two parents this year – Peggy Walters & Judy Lewis for their outstanding volunteer efforts on behalf of the school.
- sharing insights of our school from Student Body President, Travis Dodd; a current parent, Jeanette Gross; alumni Jeremy Duncan & Mark Thomas and grandparent, Becky Octave
- an upbeat video showcasing the many aspects of our amazing school
As coffee and dessert was being served, the live auction then got underway led by the talented, enthusiastic and passionate for JECHS professional auctioneer – Jim Mulrooney! 
There were 12 exciting items to be auctioned off during the live auction – everything from trips and dinners, to monthly flowers and cookies for a year, to the front row at graduation and being principal for a day. We even auctioned off Chiles Wilsons famous hand decorated shoes! The live auction was entertaining and exciting as we all watched money being raised for the school. The top item sold was a gourmet dinner for six made and served by Deputy District Attorney Scott Fichtner ($4,000) who at the last minute agreed to provide two dinners effectively bringing in $8,000 for Jim Elliot! Other high grossing items were a week in Lake Tahoe donated by OG Packing that went for $2,300 and a bed breakfast near Washington DC, donated by Gloria Borden (Beth Lambdin’s mother) that brought in $2,000. At the end of the live auction we had made over $22,000 for our school. To God be the glory!
The evening concluded with a last chance to bid on silent auction items and homeroom baskets. As the tables closed and the donations were tallied up, the preliminary report says that we have made at least $35,000 for the annual fund at Jim Elliot. This fundraiser along with our End of the Year Giving Campaign and those faithful partners who give to the school monthly make up our annual fund which bridges the gap between between the price of tuition and what it actually costs to run the school. These funds are crucial to the sustainability and ongoing success of JECHS and we are so grateful to everyone who participated with their time, talent or treasure to the success of this fundraiser. It is not too late to give if you want to be a part of this event – just go to the support JECHS tab to contribute. We praise the Lord for His faithfulness and provision for Jim Elliot Chirustian High School for these past 11 years.
Enjoy this slide show of Denim, Diamonds & Dreams! (If you are reading this via email, you will need to go to the blog site at www.jechs.wordpress.com to view the slide show)
Beth, awesome job highlighting the evening on this blog! It really was a great evening for a GREAT SCHOOL! Thank YOU for all that you did to make this evening a great success! Your hard work and contagious passion for christian education is inspiring to many…I am not surprised this fundraiser raised the money that it did! So many students will benefit as a result! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
By: Sal & Monica Martinez on May 1, 2009
at 8:57 am