ROGERS — ROGERS - As high as the bar has been set, Steve Wolf and Deb Rudzik are planning to surpass it.
Wolf and Rudzik, both executives at Abbott Nutrition, are the co-chairmen of the largest annual fundraiser for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Diabetes Association, the 2013 Kiss a Pig gala. The fundraiser is March 9 at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.
The Kiss a Pig gala is one of the most popular fundraisers in Northwest Arkansas. One local publication has routinely named it the area’s “best charity gala.”According to the chapter’s director, Rachel Drake, the gala is the largest one in the country benefiting the American Diabetes Association.
“We’ve found out what the recipe for success is,” says Wolf, who has been on the local chapter’s leadership board for six years. “You need a strong and active board, as well as a dedicated [event] committee - coupled with the dedication of passionate volunteers in the community who want to go out and help drive donations to the event.”
Wolf adds that there’s another component that can really maximize fundraising: A well-known entertainment act. Last year, Poison lead singer Bret Michaels played at the event, and this year, REO Speedwagon will take the stage. Accordingly, the theme of this year’s Kiss a Pig gala is “Time for Pigs to Fly,” a take-off on the band’s 1978 hit, “Time for Me to Fly.”
Tickets to the Kiss a Pig gala are $200 apiece, or $2,000 for a table of 10. Wolf says the goal is to raise more than $500,000 at the black-tie optional event, which would eclipse last year’s record total of $450,000.
Rudzik, who is involved with the gala for the first time, says it’s clear why it isable to raise such increasingly larger sums.
“A lot of times boards turn over when they realize the amount of work” that goes into planning a large gala, Rudzik says. “This board’s been really consistent. The entertainment - year after year, they raise the bar - and that’s a draw. And it’s a good cause, where you get to have fun.”
The Kiss a Pig gala gets its name from the fact that pigs produce insulin, which is used by diabetics to maintain healthy blood-sugar levels. At every gala, representatives from companies large and small are candidates to smooch a pig at the end of the evening. The kiss is the prize for raising the most money in a category.
Wolf was one of the candidates in 2008, and wound up kissing a pig. That took place a year after his father died from complications related to Type II diabetes.
“I saw what the effects of diabetes were on his life,” he says. “Diabetes took a physical and emotional toll. He losthis legs before he passed.
“So when the opportunity presented itself to be a fundraiser, I did that to honor my dad and connect with the cause.”
When Wolf was asked to chair the 2013 gala, he realized he needed “good, strong leadership” to help make the event a success, so he asked Rudzik to come on board. Still, both are quick to point out that their work as co-chairmen is just a small part of what goes into the planning of the event.
Among other things, the evening includes dinner, drinks, speeches, and large live and silent auctions. It takes half a year of planning to make sure Kiss a Pig goes off without a hitch.
“We’ve got committee members in charge of decor, food, registration, entertainment,” Wolf says. “Every facet of the evening is choreographed, and it’s scripted in August. We’re meeting monthly to make sure we’re covering all of the execution elements for this event.”
All money raised supports the American Diabetes Association, and helps fund events like the annual Diabetes Expo, which will be Aug. 3 inSpringdale. The expo provides interactive demonstrations and health screenings, as well as speakers in English and Spanish.
That’s particularly important for Northwest Arkansas, as Southerners have higher rates of diabetes than other parts of the country, and Hispanics are 1.7 times more likely to develop diabetesthan whites, according to the Diabetes Association.
For more information about the Kiss a Pig gala, call (479) 464-4121 or visit diabetes.org/ nwakissapig.
Northwest Profile, Pages 33 on 02/24/2013