How do you get 400 women together to shop, eat out, play games, and sing along with the entertainers? You invite them to a Girls Night Out scholarship fundraiser.

The fun began even before the doors opened on the Oct. 29 event at the Gadsden State-Cherokee Arena. Women mingled in the lobby, admiring each other’s evening attire and enjoying the 1950’s diner decorations in keeping with this year’s theme, “Let the Good Times Roll.”

Sponsored by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, Girls Night Out raises scholarship funds for Gadsden State-Cherokee students. Additional sponsors for this year’s event were TDS Telecom and Cherokee Medical Center. This is the third Girls Night Out, and in the last three years over $10,000 has been raised and 14 scholarships awarded.

Once inside the arena attendees started the evening by shopping at 22 vendors' exhibits with everything from Tupperware to jewelry to cosmetics.

Debbie Ratliff was one of the women checking out Centre Florist’s exhibit.

“I’ve been coming to Girls Night Out since the first one was held at the Country Club three years ago,” Ratliff said. “It is a fun night for all of the ladies, and this one is even bigger than last year.”

Ratliff’s friend, Marilyn Bridges, was attending for the first time. “My husband surprised me with a ticket, so here I am,” Bridges said. “This has been a lot of fun so far. I’m glad I was able to come.”

Dinner itself was an event, as women were seated at 52 elaborately decorated tables with themes based on holidays, hobbies, and important events in the life of a woman.

Buffet stations dished out grilled hamburgers and cold glass-bottled Coke, ice cream sundaes for dessert. After dinner a group of local dancers calling themselves “The Good Time Girls”, with soloist Daphne Reece, provided Broadway-style entertained with song and dance numbers.

A tuxedo-clad Chad Steed was MC for the evening. Steed provided additional entertainment by walking the crowd and crooning old favorites to his “fans.” Chad reminded the women at each table that more funds were needed for the scholarships, and insisted he would take cash tips for his minstrel efforts. His perseverance paid off, as he raised $277 dollars in tip money.

Raffle tickets were sold to win prizes provided by the vendors. This year $3,000 was raised for the scholarship fund on raffle ticket sales alone.

While everyone appreciated the evening’s star-quality entertainment, the real stars of the night were the dinner tables themselves. Decorations ranged from “down-home” to traditional.

If there was an award for most original it may have gone to “Ladies of the Knight”. Their renaissance theme included knight’s helmets at each place setting and the ladies were outfitted in medieval regalia fit for King Arthur’s banquet. The table was sponsored by Cherokee County Health and Rehabilitation.

At least one of the decorating teams had been planning their table for the last year. Kay Davis and Dewandee Neyman created “Queens of the Hop”, a 50’s themed table with decorations and party favors from the era.

“The centerpiece is made from a pink Cadillac that one of us found at a yard sale, surrounded by 45 records with songs of that time,” Davis said. “At each place setting we have a DVD of a TV show, like Ozzie and Harriett. Those are favors for the ladies to take home. Since McDonalds started in the 50’s we put out McDonalds containers at each plate filled with candies from that decade.”

Davis and Neyman added to their table’s ambiance by dressing in poodle skirts, shiny pink jackets, and neck scarves.

Davis has been a supporter of Girls Night Out since the beginning. “I’ve been in on this since the ground level,” Davis said. “It is so great to see women from all over having a good time. My daughter-in-law, Nikki Davis, came all the way from Rainsville to be at our table this year!”

Davis said she and Neyman are already planning their table for next year. “Every year we have grown,” Davis said. “I want to thank Gadsden-State for the use of this beautiful arena to have this event that just keeps getting bigger.”

While the evening was fun and lighthearted, the serious business of raising scholarship funds was always at the forefront. The scholarships are awarded to traditional and non-traditional students and can assist with tuition and other costs involved in a college education.

“Every dollar helps,” said Dr. Martha Lavender, assistant to the president, Gadsen State-Cherokee Community College. “I know that with the nursing students there are so many extra fees. You have uniforms, labs, special fees associated with the medical field, plus the high cost of books. This scholarship has helped a lot of our students cover those extras.”

Gadsden State nursing instructor Susan Mullins noted that many of the students stay in Cherokee County once they have received their degrees.

“My mother is at Cherokee Rehab, and she is always telling me, ‘One of your students was working with me today,’” Mullins said. “It feels good to know that so many of the people who receive these scholarships stay and work in this community.”

This year’s event raised a approximately $10,000 for new scholarships.

Students can pick up a scholarship application at the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce office at Gadsden State-Cherokee Community College. Scholarships are usually awarded in April of each year.

To be added to an e-mail list for future Girls Events, send your information to The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce at cccoc@tds.net.

To make a donation to the scholarship fund raiser mail your check to Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, 801 Cedar Bluff Road, Building A, Centre, AL 35960.