Gala 2023 Evening Schedule
6:00 Cocktail Reception, Games, and Silent Auction
7:00 EXCALIBUR Highlights Segment 1
7:35 Honored Guests: Dan and Betty Butler
7:55 EXCALIBUR Highlights Segment 2
8:25 Fund A Need Appeal
8:45 EXCALIBUR Highlights Segment 3
9:05 Live Auction
9:30 Heads or Tails Game and Ring of Fire Winner Announced
9:45 Final Farewell
10:00 Dance Floor Opens
11:00 Dance Floor Wraps/Bar Close
Vineeta Sawkar, Co-host
As a 5-time Emmy award-winning journalist, Vineeta has focused her illustrious career on reporting and anchoring in the television news business. Active involvement in the community has also been a cornerstone of her career. Event emcee, non-profit board member and adviser to charitable groups are all part of her wide-ranging profile. She is currently the on-air host of The Morning News on WCCO radio.
Michael-jon Pease, Co-host
Michael-jon is currently the Executive Director of St. Paul Parks Conservancy with 24 years of leadership and fundraising experience. He served as the executive director for Park Square Theatre from 2012-2020 where he was on staff for fifteen years. Pease began his career as the founding executive director of Cornucopia Art Center in Lanesboro, MN. Pease just stepped down as St Paul Rotary’s 110th president and serves on the board of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. As adjunct faculty at St. Mary’s University – Twin Cities, he taught fundraising at the graduate level.
Glen Fladeboe, Auctioneer
We are pleased to welcome Glen Fladeboe as our auctioneer again after partnering with him for over a decade. Glen’s company, Fladeboe Advancement, has established itself as one of the largest fundraising strategy companies in the country. Glen, along with the entire Fladeboe team, considers it a privilege to have helped more than a thousand nonprofits raise hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mad Mardigan, DJ
His real name is Nicholas Dircz, but most people know him as the one and only DJ Mad Mardigan – The Official DJ of The Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx, and creator/owner of GenerationNOW Entertainment. His unmatched energy and skill are the reason he is the go-to choice by an elite list of clientele year after year. DJ Mad Mardigan can be regularly found at every major venue the state has to offer, including: U.S. Bank Stadium, The Target Center, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, The State Theatre, Varsity Theatre, SEVEN Ultralounge, The W Hotel, The Pourhouse, The Exchange, and the historic First Avenue Nightclub.