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14th Annual Gala: Celebrating 40 Years of God's Faithfulness to KA
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November 24, 2024Koinonia Academy's Annual Gala was an incredible evening that brought together our community to celebrate 40 years of faith, family, and education. The event was a perfect blend of fun, fellowship, and inspiration, highlighting the heart of our mission and the impact we’ve made together in the lives of our students.Held on Thursday, November 7th, at the Bridgewater Marriott, over 350 attendees gathered to enjoy delicious food, great company, and uplifting entertainment.
The evening began with a performance by our high school choir, who kicked off the night with three songs, conducted by Val Torkelson, and with teacher Daniel Pulido accompanying on the piano. We love putting our joyful students on display front and center, and it was the perfect way to kick off the night.
Every year our gala showcases a new Koinonia Academy video.Our 2024 Koinonia Academy video is definitely worth a watch! It's housed on our website and you can view it by clicking Here.
This year's was a heartfelt tribute to the legacy and future of KA. It featured inspiring messages from alumni, who shared how their time at KA shaped their lives and vocations. The video beautifully showcases the school's mission, highlighting the impact of a Christ-centered education and the vibrant community that has been built over the past 40 years. It left everyone in attendance feeling inspired and grateful for the transformative work being done at KA.The gala also featured the presentation of awards to our esteemed honorees.
Br. Adam Neri is a dedicated servant of God in the Brotherhood of Hope, whose adventurous life and deep faith have led him from New Jersey to mission work across the globe. He shared inspiring stories of how he has personally seen the transformative love of Jesus in people's lives, and the incredible fulfillment and joy that comes with saying yes to Jesus.
Married for 31 years, Damon and Melanie Owens are international speakers, most recently at the National Eucharistic Congress held in Indiana this year. They have blessed our school, parishes, and the world with their ministry, Joyful Ever After, dedicated to strengthening Catholic marriages through their expertise in Theology of the Body, Natural Family Planning, and family life.
Nora Coletta and Marge Margiotta were cherished teachers at Koinonia Academy, whose deep faith, unwavering love for their students, and steadfast commitment to the school's mission left an indelible mark on the community. Although they have now gone home to the Lord, their husbands, affectionately known as "the Bobs," graciously accepted the Paraclete Award on behalf of their beloved wives. Our emcee for the evening, KA alumna Grace Bunsa, delivered a heartfelt tribute to her two former teachers, capturing the profound impact they had on so many. Despite feeling they could never fully express their gratitude, the Bobs could not leave the stage without sharing how deeply their families felt loved by this honor, and how much Nora and Marge loved Koinonia Academy.
On top of all that, one of the best parts of the evening was hearing from one of our students! Current Senior, Patrick Knob, shared his powerful reflection on the contrast between the world’s fleeting promises and the light of faith found at Koinonia Academy. How embracing the truth, goodness, and beauty that KA offers through its Catholic education is preparing him spiritually and academically to meet life's challenges with wisdom and purpose.What an incredible night!
I'm humbled to share that, thanks to the incredible generosity we received, we raised nearly $160,000 toward our $180,000 target. We are so thankful. A special thank you to our table sponsors, corporate sponsors, and attendees. We are beyond grateful to all who joined us for this special celebration of our past, present, and future. Your continued support makes everything we do possible, and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for the next 40 years!Be sure to check out photos from the event below and relive the beautiful memories we created together! A special shoutout to our talented photographer for the evening, Rachel Gallic Photography, who captured the night so beautifully!We need to say some very special Thank Yous
To our incredible gala planning team, volunteers, and students who made this evening unforgettable! Anne Cantine expertly managed the event logistics with the support of Katie Buganski, while 8th-grade students Nicole Touhill and Bella Gallic flawlessly ran the PowerPoint and music for the night. Christine Wolfram worked her magic in designing and setting up our stunning centerpieces.
Earlier in the day, we hosted our honorees at school for a special assembly and lunch, beautifully organized by Emmy O'Dougherty and her team of volunteers. Cath Pagano, our graphic design extraordinaire, created the elegant journals, save-the-dates, invitations, social media posts, and presentations that tied everything together seamlessly.
We are especially grateful to our volunteers who helped prepare and clean up on the day of the event—thank you, Christina Buganski, Delphine Anderson, and the Wolfram, Hudock, Marques, and Butrico families!
It truly takes a village, and the KA community is the best one we could ever hope for! Thank you for your time, creativity, and dedication in making this event a phenomenal success!