Kathy Surges Wins Hardy Raffle

Pictured (clockwise from the painting): Raffle winner Kathy Surges, lead teacher Leslie Leline, Peninsula Preschool Board President Kelly Fagundes, Peninsula Preschool students, Hardy Executive Director Sarah Zamecnik, assistant teacher Lori Kemmler, and artist Bonnie Paruch. Submitted.

The Hardy Gallery is pleased to announce their annual fundraising raffle drawing came to a close on Oct. 13, 2015 with Kathy Surges, owner of Hide Side Corner Store in Fish Creek, as the lucky recipient of a masterful work created by Bonnie Paruch. This year’s fundraiser was the most successful to date, selling more than 2,500 tickets throughout the season and producing revenue of more than $8,000.

The Hardy was honored to have partnered with Peninsula Preschool in Ephraim for their Art from the Heart Partnership, raising almost $2,000 for the preschool.

The raffle was structured to benefit all participating parties: the selected artist, who was commissioned and paid for the creation of the painting, the fundraising efforts raised to support the gallery and the donor who purchased the painting and donated it to the Hardy.

“Breezy Day on Eagle Harbor” by Bonnie Paruch.

Each year the Hardy Gallery sets out to commission a Door County artist to make an original work of art that thoughtfully represents the historically iconic graffiti-covered warehouse situated on Ephraim’s Anderson Dock. For 2015, Bonnie Paruch was selected as the raffle artist and thereby produced “Breezy Day at Eagle Harbor,” original oil on canvas valued at $3,600. In addition, the Hardy works in partnership with a fellow (local) nonprofit to bring greater awareness of the respective organizations to the public and support each other financially through mutual ticket sales. In return for a stake in the fundraiser, the Hardy gifts a percentage of ticket sales back to the partnering organization.

Because of their determination and assistance from the greater Door community, the Peninsula Preschool sold more than 1,000 raffle tickets, which the Hardy Gallery graciously donated 50 percent of ticket sales sold by the Peninsula Preschool back to the school, directly benefitting the children of Northern Door.

The Hardy Gallery would like to show its appreciation by thanking all of their incredible volunteers that made this year’s raffle such a big success, Peninsula Preschool for their support and teamwork and finally to Dennis and Bonnie Connolly for their patronage and without whom the commission and raffle would not have been possible.