Lexington chamber's Wings & Wine, Beer & Brats nets $2,300 for scholarships (2024)

LEXINGTON — The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Wings & Wine, Beer & Brats fundraiser at Mac’s Creek Winery on Thursday.

The event was organized to raise money for the Blanche Senior Scholarship, an award given to Lexington High School seniors to support their postsecondary education.

The scholarship, named for Blanche Senior, a longtime Lexington resident and former executive director of the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce, has been given to many local students over the years.

The scholarship is awarded by the chamber’s Business Education Committee, which looks for students who excel both inside and outside the classroom. Applicants are required to submit a narrative outlining their academic and career goals, along with references from teachers, coaches or employers.

The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce raised $2,300, surpassing its fundraising goal. These funds will contribute to the Blanche Senior Scholarship for the upcoming school year, with two students set to receive $1,000 each.

The recipients of the 2023-24 Blanche Senior scholarship were Brooklyn Lul and Miguel Cruz.

Both plan to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Lul will pursue a degree in finance, while Cruz intends to study architecture.

“This scholarship will allow me the freedom to immerse myself into campus life instead of worrying about offsetting the cost of my education,” Lul said.

Cruz said, “During my high school career, I have earned many state trophies and medals in cross country and track. I will not compete at the next level, but I will utilize the skills I have learned so far and represent this scholarship well.”

The fundraiser saw a significant turnout from the community during the first hour, with parking lots filling up quickly as attendees arrived at Mac’s Creek Winery.

The four-hour event was a blend of good food, drinks and camaraderie, with a variety of community members gathering to support the cause. Pat Samway welcomed guests with handshakes and hugs as they arrived at the event.

With warm and sunny 80-degree weather, the outdoor atmosphere was lively, with attendees enjoying their food and drinks in high spirits.

Live music was a highlight of the evening as Lexington High School band director Spencer Hansen provided entertainment. During intermissions, Hansen mingled with guests while background music played from his laptop, featuring artists like John Mayer and Orleans.

Heather Heinemann, the executive director of the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce, expressed her gratitude to the attendees and said she continued to receive donations from those who were unable to attend.

Heinemann encouraged the community to continue supporting the scholarship fund to ensure that future generations of Lexington students can benefit from this opportunity.

In the past, only one $1,000 scholarship was awarded. However, Heinemann said the opportunity to offer two scholarships began with the fundraising success of the 2022-23 school year.

Inspired by this success, Lexington High School counselor Michele McKeone suggested at least two scholarships be awarded annually moving forward.

“It’s a wonderful goal to be able to award more than one scholarship. I hope we can continue to raise significant funds. Who knows, in the future, we might be able to offer even more scholarships, depending on our fundraising success,” Heinemann said.

Addressing the many community members who attended the fundraiser, Heinemann expressed her gratitude for the blend of familiar and new faces at the event.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone that showed up. I’ve been attending this event for a long time, and I looked around the winery and I saw faces that I’ve seen every year at this event, but I also saw around 60 people that I’d never seen attend before.”

“The people at Mac’s Creek are wonderful to work with to hold an event like this. We just hope to continue to grow this fundraiser so people know that this is an annual event that the Chamber puts on.”

The sponsors of this year’s event were Go Home Reality, JK Energy, Busy Bones Butcher, Mac’s Creek Winery, Cidery and Brewery, Lexington Ambassadors, TEC Equipment, Platte Valley Auto, Cody and Tara Naprstek, Lexington Regional Health Center, Darin and Lisa Buescher, Scott and Amy Hill, Tod and Michele McKeone and A+ Bakery.