The bids at the gala for a dinner mounted to $75,000. This is dinner for a dozen in a tipi in the snow somewhere. At $75,000, the auctioneer stopped and offered a second one at the same price. He had a taker. Such was the lore around this auction offering.   The average annual pay in Park City is $58,600. Yeah, curious, I looked it up. I note as observation, not resentment. I never minded living most of my life as the barefoot sailor in beach and ski towns. This is just the deal. Works out better than in “normal” America for a lot of us.     But slide much further down the low end of the income scale, as maybe most employees in Park City do, and genuine hardship begins to set in. A young teen and his mom at my table represented what the JANS Winter Welcome gala was all about. Here’s where glamor takes the sharp edge off grit. Their story is as tough as the obvious bond between them. Dad had a massive stroke that rendered him incapacitated, unable even to speak. Mom has done her best ever since to make ends meet. The boy was saved by hockey, and it turns out he’s gifted in the sport. A poignant video, interview onstage, the next round of bidding revved up. There’s a whole season of these events, which more or less play out like this. Pricey tables for the good cause to sponsor. Tickets that cost way more than the meal and gala experience alone can deliver. But that of course is not the point at all. This is about the flow of giving from the so blessed to the truly in need. It’s hard to tell how many non-profit organizations there are in each ski community, but the Park City area has among the most at 426, according to 990 Scout. The Vail Valley in Colorado counts 732, and others like the Jackson Hole area reach into the low 300s. Aspen, a tighter area, is limited at 177 non-profits, along with Truckee in the low 100s. That’s a lot of community service, however you look at it. Each ski town has a subset of nonprofits that put on galas like the 46th annual Winter Welcome, which raises enough to keep the dream alive for the kids served through the Youth Sports Alliance, over 30% of them on scholarships that make their participation possible. Millions of dollars that go to the best uses are generated this way. There aren’t many efforts as well directed as supporting kids’ ability to join these programs and set them up for full, active adult lives later. Not to mention the 50 or so Olympians who have come out of the alliance so far. There are other ways to raise funds, including the veritable block party this Friday on Main Street and across town that we know as Live PC Give PC. But throwing a big party in a ballroom with a compelling auctioneer is a well-proven means. As such, it interests more retiring types like me, no fan of dressing up though I do love the people watching, the unexpected conversations, the organizational missions and, yeah, a lot of the pageantry. I like the auctioneers, the leaders talking about their reasons why, my tablemates when I go alone. Even if the enthusiasm for, say, an auctioned dinner or week in whatever gated, curated visit to somewhere warm eludes me completely even as the bids rack up. I never fail to appreciate the philanthropic passion poured onto these organizations, though my own extremely modest giving goes to literary ventures in large part because almost no one else’s does. At least not by comparison. Also, I believe the future of the world depends at root almost entirely on the writers. Yes, I’m aware this notion might just serve as a handy definition of insanity. Still, I see nothing countering the power of story. Certainly not at a fundraising gala, which depends on it. Maybe this is the ultimate future with our form of a capitalist society favoring the 1% and currently rocketing toward the 1% of the 1% as multi-billionaires begin to break into the Elon-esque trillionaire level of personal wealth. Gala earnings should only grow through the trickle down, with ever more of society depending on the giveback. I probably exaggerate wildly. I hope I exaggerate wildly as I can’t not look at where AI’s bounty is pooling. Meantime, galas are more fun than a stick in the eye, which pretty much is the experience with paying taxes. At least at the gala, the rich will very willingly pay far more than their fair share of the burden, especially when they buy in to the story. Don Rogers is the editor and publisher of The Park Record. He can be reached at [email protected] or (970) 376-0745. The post Journalism Matters: This is just our world of glitz and grit appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less