From left, Royal Pride Foundation board member Don Oas, honoree and San Marcos High School teacher Jamie DeVries, board member Bronwen Brindley, M.D., and board treasurer Lisa Lee at the foundation’s fourth annual Royal Gala. 
Event co chairs Christi Phreaner, left, Ginger Salazar and Yvette Giller. 
San Marcos High School volunteer student photographers Kimberly Quezada, left, James Kirk and Sarah Theist. 
San Marcos High School Principal Ed Behrens with Katina Etsell. 
Honoree Matt Marquis with his wife, Ann. 
Gala attendees Jessica Laband and Jamie Rivadeneyra. 
The new Tesla got the attention of, from left, Karen Carroll, Michele Schneider, Debi Helm and Jay Carroll. 
San Marcos High School business manager Cheryl Long with her husband, Jeff Long. 
Foundation board president Tom Condon with Christy Condon. 
Lovely fresh rose centerpieces at San Marcos High School gala.
The Royal Pride Foundation last week hosted its fourth annual Royal Gala to benefit San Marcos High School in the rotunda of The Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort.
“The annual gala showcases the incredible amount of support that this community has for education. Money raised helps fund vital projects that improve both the San Marcos campus and the student experience. By benefiting students in our community, we are helping the community as a whole,” said Ed Behrens, San Marcos High School principal. “Funds support curriculum enhancements, campus beautification projects, new programs, and provide financial support to students in need, thereby helping every student at the school.”
Royal Pride Foundation Executive Director Matt Laband said, “The Royal Gala is a celebration of the foundation’s success and a way for the community to come together to build upon these improvements.”
The evening affair included a social hour, a sit-down dinner, live and silent auctions, plus live music and dancing to Los Angeles' Uptown Live Band.
After a welcome by Laband, emcee Geoff Green of Santa Barbara City College introduced a vocal performance by the talented San Marcos High School Madrigals. Later, the live auction raised sizable bids for items such as a luxury Lake Tahoe getaway, a Tesla factory tour and trial in Fremont, four seventh-row seats to a 2018 L.A. Clippers basketball game, and more.
Committee publicity chairwoman Ann Pieramici told Noozhawk that the total amount raised at the gala was more than $300,000.
This year’s event honored three outstanding community members. The Marquis family received the Philanthropy Award for their generous contributions and leadership during the past 35 years as a Founding Family of the Royal Pride Foundation and most recently for their donation to the San Marcos Performing Arts Department and auditorium, which will be renamed the Marquis Performing Arts Center.
Economics teacher Jamie DeVries garnered the Citizenship Award for his outstanding contributions to the school, most notably in creating the Kids Helping Kids nonprofit organization that has benefited students from Santa Barbara to Honduras and Mumbai.
Deckers Brands was honored with the Community Leadership Award for its exceptional contributions to the community and for its 10-year strategic partnership with San Marcos High School, supporting the school’s academies and athletics department, and helping transform Kids Helping Kids from a classroom penny drive to a credentialed nonprofit organization.
Co-chairs of this year’s event were parents Yvette Giller, Christi Phreaner and Ginger Salazar. Other Royal Gala planning committee members included Bronwen Brindley, Cindy Oas, Sheri Fay, Kelly Fuller, Sandra Wood, Romina Banan, Brooke Tiller, Jenn Scholl, Carey Zimmerman, Sydney Black, Matt Laband, Ann Pieramici, Melinda Werner, Kristi Bittner, Tracy Stevens and Tammy Kronen. Tom Condon is president of the Royal Pride Foundation.
Sponsors included A & J Limousine, Boone Graphics, Cottage Hospital, Deckers Brands, Easy Lift Transportation, The Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort, Fess Parker Winery, Grubb Campbell Real Estate Group, MarBorg Industries, the Marquis family, Montecito Bank & Trust, the Mosher Foundation, Pacifica Hotels, the Sheldon family, Sunstone Winery, The Towbes Group and Villa Elegante Vacation Rentals.
Other sponsors were Allstate Insurance/Alain Welty, Sheri and Matt Fay, the Grubb Campbell Group of Village Properties, the Hughes family, the Kensington Investment Counsel/Marcy and Jon Wimbish, the Kuesis family, the Tiller family, White & Grube Orthodontics, the Winterbauer family, the Wood family, the Zadeh family and many others.
The Royal Pride Foundation provides strategic guidance and funding for projects that support students and drive San Marcos High School to achieve excellence in academics, extracurricular pursuits and facilities. During the past four years, the foundation has raised more than $3 million and accomplished many noteworthy goals, namely expanding the Health Careers Academy, launching the Entrepreneurship Academy and the Café Royale Culinary Program, the Performing Arts Department, funding new sand volleyball courts, schoolwide landscaping and infrastructure improvements, and the purchase of a new athletic van.
Click here for more information about the foundation, or email Laband at labamndmatt@gmail.com.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.