Quick Draw 2015 draws crowd of 500

The 25th Anniversary Quick Draw at Absarokee High School drew a large crowd for the concert and art auction.
The theme for this year’s Quick Draw was 25 Years of Opening Doors and Planting Seeds of Education. In keeping with the theme a number of art pieces were made with doors.
Approximately 500 people attended the event, and more than $30,000 was raised. The event only raised $30,000 on one other occasion about 10 years ago.
Entertainment was provided by The Midlife Chryslers, a Billings-based band that performed a mix of country, blues, classics, and swing. The band received a standing ovation after closing with “Rolling on the River.”
Art pieces were auctioned through both a silent auction and a live auction.
Artist Tom Wolfe donated an original painting that was commissioned for the event. The winner of a Heads or Tails game won the painting.
Featured artists at Quick Draw 2015 include Tom Wolfe, Sam Harrington, Jessi Sparkman, Steve Kerr, and Susan Bryan. Each of the featured artists was at the event and working on an art piece.
Seventy artisans donated pieces for the event this year. David Culbertson, who again contributed this year, has donated an art piece for the Quick Draw event every year for the past 25 years. A number of individuals and businesses also donated art pieces for the event.
During the past 24 years nearly 300 scholarships have been awarded to Absarokee High School students. 2015 scholarship recipients will be announced in May.
The first Quick Draw and Art Auction, sponsored by the Absarokee Vocational Advisory Council, was held in 1991. The event has featured entertainment and an auction each year.
Quick Draw raised $388,275 for Absarokee High School graduates and vocational clubs during the event’s first 24 years. Last year the event raised $21,994.
The Absarokee Vocational Advisory Council was founded in 1980 as a lay board to assist vocational instructors. The advisory council eventually evolved into a financial advocacy organization for Absarokee High School graduates and vocational club students.
Council members include Dustin Sturm, Sara Kerr, Jodi Heard, Laura Bakich, Carolyn Story, Tim Zumbrun, Mike Reynolds, Chris Clark, Rick Hammond, Jane Oltrogge, Rick Westrum, Trenton Russell, Sarah Barlau-Russell, Beth Pelton, Bill Flanagan, Virginia Guthrie, Neil McCaslin, Pennie Harsca, Diana Scollard, Bonnie Daniel, Terri Ferster, and Janel Brunckhorst.
Don Vondra and Carolyn Shortridge also both served on the advisory council for many years until their passing this past year.