John Quinones will be signing copies of his new book at the Mountain Education Foundation’s 6th Annual Coffee and Dessert fundraising event Sept. 8.Tickets are now on sale for the Mountain Education Foundation’s 6th Annual Coffee and Dessert fundraising event that kicks off the foundation’s 2016-17 annual campaign. The event will take place Sept. 8 in the Signal Mountain Middle/High School gym at 6 p.m.
This year’s speaker is John Quiñones, the Emmy Award-winning co-anchor of the ABC News program “Primetime” and the anchor of its highly rated spinoff series “What Would You Do?” The son of migrant workers who grew up in Texas, Quiñones has been with ABC for almost 30 years, serving as the network’s first Latino correspondent, mainly on “Primetime” and “20/20.”
MEF Executive Director Katie Hanners said she chose Quiñones because he is a well-known celebrity, and because of the popularity of “What Would You Do?” among teenage students.
“He’s a pretty significant person to bring in,” she said.
Quiñones recently published a book based on the show, which uses hidden cameras to record people put in real-life situations to see if they respond by taking action or continuing on their way. He will be signing copies of the book, “What Would You Do?: Words of Wisdom About Doing the Right Thing,” for event attendees.
“He will speak about the role education – particularly public education – has played in helping him get where he is today,” said Hanners.
She said plenty of tables are still available, though the event tends to fill up quickly once school starts.
The cost to sponsor a VIP table is $1,000, which allows eight guests to attend a pre-event reception to meet Quiñones and includes a copy of the book for each couple. The cost for a table of eight is $175, and individual tickets are available for $50 each.
Hanners said the event typically raises around $200,000, about a third of the funds necessary to support Signal Mountain schools for the year. Last year’s event brought in $204,000 through ticket sales and pledges from the community, she said.
The 2015 event drew 900 guests, and this year Hanners hopes to raise that number to 1,000 to take up the full capacity of the gym.
“It’s a great event for the community as a whole, and a great way to support education and hear a great speaker,” she said.
Tickets are available online at meftoday.org.