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Testimonials
Testimonials
- Southfield, Detroit - February 16, 2008
ZONTA
- HOUSTON, TEXAS
We are very
grateful for Team Effort Events and the Glass Slipper Ball. We
were a garage sale club and GSB has moved us up into a whole new
realm for
our fund raising.
Kayleen Kill
Founding Chairperson - Houston
District 10 - Area 02 Director 2007
ZONTA
- THREE RIVERS PITTSBURGH NORTH
It's my honor
to offer a testimony letter on behalf of Team Effort Events! For
the past four years our club has had the benefit of not only using
this production company but having Debra Dion Krischke as the
chairperson of our event. The many hours that she and the team
put into the GSB over the years has helped our club lead the way
for other Zonta clubs to follow.
As we move
into our fifth year and address the sustain ability of the event,
our club recognized that only through the combined efforts of
professionals and volunteers, can this event continue to grow
and prosper. Debra's commitment to our ongoing success along with
her talent for special event production has been a gift that will
continue to help our club succeed for many years to come.
I would be
happy to speak with any club considering The Glass Slipper Ball
as a fundraiser. It has not only put our club on the local social
calendar, it¹s attracted new members, and also allowed us
to support more deserving women (locally and globally) than we
could ever have imagined. As a club we are looking forward to
the future of this event and truly feel we have only just begun
to scratch the service of what is possible.
Valerie Benjamin
President 2007-2009
Zonta - Three Rivers Pittsburgh North
ZONTA
CLUB OF THE PIKES PEAK AREA
At first,
it might seem ironic that I should be the one to write a testimonial
for Debra. When she came to Colorado Springs to present her ideas
to our Zonta club, I wrote a letter to our membership explaining,
quite emphatically, why we should NOT do a Glass Slipper Ball.
This community is saturated with events of this nature. Our club
is very small with only about 20 active members. The largest fundraiser
this group has ever done is selling nuts! But Debra gave it the
good sell and the members voted to take it on. It is also ironic
that through an unforeseen turn of events, I became the chair
person of this self-same event! If the majority wanted to make
this happen, then I was willing to support it too. Never say "Never!"
When I take
on a project, I take it very seriously. I give it 110% and I don't
quit until the outcome is beyond everyone's expectation. Not only
was I going to support the club's decision, I was determined to
see our club have success with this event. It wasn't long before
I realized that Debra felt exactly the same way. She gave us the
tools to put together an amazing fund raiser that went beyond
the wildest dreams of any Zonta member. She was in constant communication
and she listened. She explained every detail, sometimes in 32
different ways, until we got it. She was our number one cheerleader
and, at times, did some major hand-holding and spoon-feeding.
When we made a miss-step, she was there to pick us up and set
us on our way again. When something exciting happened, she was
there with a high-five…always, always positive.
And what an
event the Glass Slipper Ball was! Those lucky enough to attend
were dazzled! The setting was elegant, the flowers were drop-dead
gorgeous, the food was beyond delicious and the music was unforgettable.
With the attendance and the silent auction and mystery gifts,
our little club raised more money than they ever thought possible!
Two months later, when we handed our community partner and main
charity recipient a check for $7,500.00, there wasn't a dry eye
in the house.
The benefits
of the Glass Slipper Ball go far beyond the dollars though. I
saw a group of like-minded women come together in the spirit of
team work and with an unassuming graciousness that is difficult
to describe. These ladies encouraged a community slathered with
invitations for hand-outs, to become business partners with a
common goal. These businesses jumped in with both feet and gave
and gave and gave! As a club, we learned more about each other
(all of our amazing hidden talents!) than we ever did in years
of club meetings. An intangible closeness and a new respect were
found by all.
The members
of this Zonta club put a trust in me that was humbling. They worked
hard and were willing to follow my lead and vision to create something
we had never seen before. That vision and that leadership were
designed by Debra. She created a concept, worked very hard to
make it happen and then set me up to take the credit. Sure, I
lost sleep. I stressed it here and there. I faltered and swayed.
But I always knew that Debra had my back.
As an added
bonus, I gained new friends. Debra and her husband showed me what
a successful marriage and business partnership looks like. Debra
has all the skills and experience of a tough, no-nonsense business
woman, but her motivation, clearly, comes from her heart
Would our
club do the Glass Slipper Ball again? You bet! (It's scheduled
for March 1, 2008.) Would I work with Debra again? In a heart
beat!
Laura Stamp
Vice-president of the Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area
ZONTA
- PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO
I do not think
that the Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area would have dared to
dream of something so big as The Glass Slipper Ball without the
support and enthusiasm of Debra Dion-KrischkeI But having dared,
we found that Debra would not allow us to fail! She held our hands,
offered words of encouragement, gently pushed when we needed it,
propped us up when we looked like falling, cheered us on, and
watched our backs - all the time with a smile on her face! What
an amazing lady!
Helen Smithwick
Treasurer - Pikes Peak Zonta Club
ZONTA
- COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
DEBRA DION
KRISCHKE--What a dynamo! Debra's visit to Colorado Springs was
occasioned by our desire as a Zonta Club to explore growth--in
membership, in fundraising, in benefits to women who need our
help. She brought us so much more. She opened our eyes to new
ways of looking at what we do, and unleashed new energy and enthusiasm
for what we could accomplish.
There is definitely
a parallel here to what our international micro-credit projects
accomplish. We send in expertise, a little seed money and empower
women to use their talents and energies to invest in themselves
and their businesses on behalf of their families and communities.
Debra brings in the expertise and the seed money to our Zonta
club, teaches, coaches and encourages us to take pride in who
we are as Zontians and what we can accomplish in the world, and
offers to lead us through a process that will generate money and
members on a scale we've never even dreamed of.
With her help
I have every confidence that we can bring our club to a new level
in our community. The Glass Slipper Ball may truly be the Cinderella
event for our club. It promises to be fun, lucrative and noteworthy--those
are the elements that will stimulate membership, and most importantly
allow us to raise our level of funding for the serious women's
issues that we wish to support.
As an 85-year
old organization, Zonta's mission is as important today as it
was at our founding, yet our clubs are at a dangerous juncture.
Our world has changed dramatically and our organization has not.
Debra has an idea that may singlehandedly save Zonta from extinction.
Ideas are great, but Debra also has the talent, energy and expertise
to actually pull it off! I applaud the dedication and passion
she brings to this endeavor and hope that my club is going to
be the next in the series of "success stories" she'll
have to tell.
Sharon Roggy
District 12 - Area 4 Director
Colorado Springs, Colorado
I have been
very impressed with Debra and the idea of this event is very exciting.
The presentation I thought was good and the promise of hand holding
by the person who knows how to do the job is appreciated. Without
Debra's guidance I would walk away from this project, but with
it I am enthusiastically in favor of putting it on.
Pat Sufak
Former President
Colorado Springs
ZONTA
CLUB OF HOUSTON
I personally
have known Debra Dion Krischke since 1988, when I moved to Pittsburgh
and joined the Three Rivers North Pittsburgh Zonta Club. For a
short time I was President-Elect to her serving as President of
the club, but a job transfer to Houston in 1991 forced me to resign
that position. For more than two years I experienced firsthand
the energy and enthusiasm that is Debra.
In late 2004,
I read an article in Sports Illustrated that was about an annual
event that Debra organized. Since I had lost track of Debra, I
did a web search and found her email. That web search also was
my first exposure to the Glass Slipper Ball. After reading about
the tremendous success of the event, I instantly wondered how
we could pull off something like that for our club in Houston.
Debra responded
to my email (congratulating her on the SI article) and immediately
asked if Houston might be interested in a Glass Slipper Ball of
their own. The answer was YES.
The Zonta
Club of Houston will be hosting their first annual Glass Slipper
Ball on April 8, 2006. We are on our way. This event would not
be possible without Debra's support. We hope this will be a long
and profitable partnership.
Kayleen Kill
Zonta Club of Houston
CRISIS
CENTER NORTH
Stacy de las Alas - Development Specialist
For the past
30 years in which the Crisis Center North (CCN) has been in existence,
fundraising efforts have been an internal process. Various types
of "signature events" have been attempted ranging from
golf outings to jazz event, all coming up short of our goal. This
year, with our 30th anniversary and a budget in which fundraising
was crucial component, the organization decided to seek outside
assistance with event planning.
Debra Dion
Krischke has been a long time friend of CCN. Thru Debra's own
fundraising efforts, as well as her work with Zonta - Three River's
Pittsburgh and their annual Glass Slipper Ball, CCN was able to
create an annual scholarship fund that assists women in furthering
their education by covering tuition and associated costs. Given
Debra's history with CCN, her reputation as a professional fundraiser,
and her commitment to the cause of domestic violence, she was
the first, and most logical pick to assist our agency with an
event.
Debra designed
a signature event for CCN called Cocktails and Cuisine for Women
in Crisis. The event highlighted local restaurants, wine and beer
purveyors, and an unbeatable silent auction in a beautiful outdoor
venue. It was, as a few of our guests described, "a happy
hour on steroids." With an estimated 300 in attendance, there
was a buzz and energy that could not be described.
Being at the
agency for nearly eight years, I have seen nothing that has compared
to the outpouring of support that we saw that night for CCN. I
felt like CCN finally had its day in the sun. People were there
to share in the good food and libations, but also learned of the
amazing work that our organization accomplishes within the community
for domestic violence victims.
Debra took
CCN to the next level in fundraising and made the process seamless.
Even through the frequent "first time" nerves of our
committee, she kept asking for our trust - and in the end, her
choices were the correct ones. We needed to graciously hand over
the rights to the "I told you so's!"
CCN thanks
Debra and Team Effort Events for their professionalism, commitment,
foresight, and willingness to go above and beyond. We cannot thank
you enough and look forward to another successful year.
Debra is the
quintessential businesswoman. She literally was the pioneer for
the paintball industry in creating demand as well as having the
largest amateur paintball tournament and conference in the U.S...probably
the world, for that fact. DSG was a major sponsor of this tournament
for years.
Robert
Divisional Merchandise Manager
Dick's Sporting Goods 1996- 2008
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