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Wednesday, December 19, 2007 The Braselton News Page 7A School Thousands attend ‘Taste of Mill Creek’ BY KRISTI REED Thousands of Mill Creek High School supporters were on hand Saturday for the fourth annual ‘Taste of Mill Creek.” The event raised approximately $40,000 for the track and soccer programs. Uli Hennsge, soccer club boost er and one of the event’s orga nizers, said extraordinary effort by volunteers made the event a success. Henssge said volun teers have worked for months soliciting donations, attracting vendors and selling tickets. “It’s a large group of people that have made this possible,” Henssge said. Henssge said the volunteer effort continued throughout event day. Students and parents arrived as early as 6 a.m. to help set up vendor booths and tables and remained to man the event. “The kids were absolutely fan tastic,” Henssge said. “It’s very strongly encouraged here at the school that we involve the par ents and the students. There is a lot of preparation that goes into this.” Over 2,500 tickets were sold for the food sampling portion of the event. For $10, ticket hold ers could sample seven items from various restaurants. Food choices included blackened cajun chicken pasta from Biba’s Italian Restaurant in Braselton, caramel cake from Feddeaux’s Bakery, meatball subs from Artuzzi’s Italian Restaurant and choices from over 30 other restaurants. For those more interested in shopping than eating, there were over 70 vendors selling a wide variety of products, includ ing food, clothing, home decor and jewelry. Christmas shop pers could buy everything from homemade quilts to environmen tally friendly cleaning products. One of the specialty vendors, 13-year-old jewelry designer, Mary Dean Matson, was selling handmade jewelry created with Austrian Swarovski crystals. The event also featured a silent auction including a number of unique items. Attendees could bid on a Harry Potter book signed by author J.K. Rowling, a miniature football helmet autographed by University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt or a signed photo of teen singing superstar Hannah Montana. Other items up for auction included memorabilia or photos signed by baseball players Jeff Franceour, Brian McCann and Chuck James; golf ers Greg Norman and Zach Johnson; football players Kevin Butler, David Pollack and David Greene; and singers Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Jimmy Buffett, Kelly Clarkson, Hillary Duff and Kenny Chesney. The school’s Relay for Life Team held a gift basket auction at the event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Bidders could choose from a selection of themed baskets con taining items such as cake deco rating supplies, art products or pet gifts. Renee Johnston, one of the event’s organizers, said the suc cessful event results were a group effort. “Everybody did their part,” Johnston said. “You do it for your school and you do it for your kids.” Schools may submit announcements, photos Educators may submit announcements and photos for school-related activities to MainStreet Newspapers. Each photo should be clear and in focus, and include a descrip tion of the events happening in the photo. Photos of poor quality may not be published. Educators are asked to submit no more than two quality photos for each event. Photos should not be attached to a Microsoft Word document, but attached within an e-mail. When using a digital camera, please ensure the camera is set at a medium quality setting to produce the best quality photos. Photos taken at a low resolution may not publish well. The first and last names of those shown in the photo, includ ing adults, must be submitted. Please ensure that all names are spelled correctly. Educators may also submit announcements, such as special events and learning activities. Honor rolls and perfect atten dance lists may also be submitted according to the format preferred by MainStreet Newspapers. School news will be published according to available space. For more information, or to submit school news, e-mail AngieEditor@aol.com. Fax announcements to 706-387-5414. BIDDING ON BASKETS Potential bidders look over gift baskets up for auction at the Taste of Mill Creek event held Saturday. YOUNG JEWERLY DESIGNER 13-year-old jewelry designer Mary Dean Matson was one of 70 vendors at Saturday’s Taste of Mill Creek. Matson is holding one of her jewelry creations handmade with Austrian Swarovski crystals. THE 2nd Annual Featuring Classic Christmas Songs With String Trio and Full Band Delicious Desserts and Coffee Served before and after 6:00 p.m. at the Golf pavilion ORE INFORMATION CONTACT QUESTIONS@CONNECTTOTHEVINE.ORG