Students and faculty come together to enjoy a night of awards and dance
Bolo ties, cowboy boots and beards. Logger Ball kicked off with a live band performance as people walked in and reconnected with each other.
This has been the third year the forestry department had this event. The Logger Ball used to be just a simple event held on campus where faculty and students came together and scholarships and awards would be distributed.
The department of forestry turned a simple event into a fun gathering where faculty and students could dress up and have a few drinks together as they gave out awards.
Scott Felder, one of the forestry students in attendance, expressed that the people were the best part about the event.
“That’s always my favorite thing about the forestry department, there’s all these people that come together for the same thing,” Felder said.
The night was full of camaraderie and reminiscing on the past year. Having an event in the style of a formal banquet unifies people in a different way, as was seen at the Logger Ball. Students and faculty intermingled like close friends as they ate food and bought raffle tickets.
Sophie Ackerman-Mero said that she enjoys the Logger ball because those who go get to reminisce about all the stuff that’s happened this year.
“We are all family and it’s great getting together like this,” Ackerman-Mero said.
The event as a whole was an opportunity to raise money for the forestry department. There was a raffle with an array of items, gift baskets and more gifts. The most popular of the raffle prizes was the STIHL 461 chainsaw.
The event was split into two parts and two levels. It was held at the Arcata Veterans Hall, where upstairs was the banquet for the first half and downstairs was the actual ball for the second half. People listened to live music and swing danced the night away.
Conrad Stielau, the forestry club president, agreed that the best part of Logger Ball was the camaraderie and the people. The whole night welcomed everyone to enjoy each other’s company, whether you were a forestry student, alumni, faculty or none of the above.
“The best thing about the forestry club, hands down, is the people,” Alex Beauchene said.
