Ladies! Mark your calendars it’s time to enjoy a women’s night out at the sixth annual Power of the Purse – a fundraiser benefiting local youth.

This year’s event is scheduled for Aug. 23 at the MSU Riley Center and organizers are encouraging participants to get ready for an evening of wine, heavy hors-d’oeuvres, purses and lots of fun.

Sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way of East Mississippi, Power of the Purse will feature a live and silent auction of “purse” items starting at 5:30 p.m. with a sneak peek and silent auction starting at 6 p.m.

Event chairwoman Kaki Knight said she believes this year’s POP will be the best one yet. Master of Ceremonies for the fundraiser this year will be Angela Payne, United Way of East Mississippi board president, with music by Aa’Keela Hudnall. Catering is by Pretty Presentations, with wine donated by Freddie’s Wine, Beer and Spirits, and beer and spritzer by Magnolia Beverage Company.

“All the past events have been so wonderful, and we are trying to grow and build on top of the solid foundation this event has,” Knight said.

Knight said something new to the event this year will be a raffle – a Louis Vuitton purse.

“We have never raffled off anything before,” Knight said. “Anyone who comes to the event will be able to purchase a $20 ticket for their chance to win. We will draw the winner at the conclusion of the event.”

Knight said there will be a huge selection of purses this year – a lot of new name brands previously unavailable to buy to auction off. Plus some of the purses will be paired with tickets to various events – The Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, The Grammy Museum in Cleveland, a Pearl River Resort get-a-way, and several pairs of collegiate football tickets.

“Not only will you get a purse, but you will get an experience with the purse that you can bid on,” Knight said.

Auctioneer for the event this year will be Johnny “Cowboy” Wright who has been trained by the “extraordinaire” auctioneer Larry Sims, said Women’s Leadership Council member and chairwoman of the 2018 Power of the Purse publicity committee Susie Broadhead.

“Johnny is from Laurel and has been POP trained under the tutelage of Larry Sims who has been the auctioneer for this event since its inception in 2013.” “The Cowboy has assisted Larry at POP for the past two years and is a crowd favorite.”

The recipient of the Judith Coursey Crowson 2018 Women’s Leadership Award for empowering women to impact their communities by raising awareness for education, income and health will be announced at the event. Last year’s winner Cheryl Waltman will pass it on to this year’s winner.

“We are really excited about this year’s winner, but we can not reveal the name until the night of the event,” Knight said. “We voted as a committee and were blown away by what her family had to say about her.”

Knight said without the volunteers, the businesses, and the community, who have been so giving and supportive, the event would not have been possible. Over the past five years, Power of the Purse has given more than $100,000 plus for the local Imagination Library, which benefits about 4,200 children in Lauderdale, Clarke, Kemper and Neshoba counties between birth and five years of age.

“We are just excited to be able to give these children books, that will help to grow their knowledge,” Knight said. “Our committee has been a “dream team” and I am honored to have been part of it.”

Power of the Purse was co-founded in 2012 by Susie Broadhead and Angie Denney, after attending a similar event in Athens, Georgia.

“I have always said we started Power of the Purse on a wing and a prayer,” Broadhead said. “We did not reinvent the wheel to bring this event to Meridian; instead, we found the wheel rolling successfully in Athens, Georgia, while serving as board members of the United Way of East Mississippi.

“Over the past five years, our wingspan has grown and positive, passionate, powerful women continue to come into our fold with their gifts and graces,” Broadhead said. “We look for this year to be our best yet and we invite women who believe in this impact program to join forces with us as we continue to make POP successful in the four counties our local United Way serves.”

Tickets for the event are $30 and can be purchased at the following locations: United Way of East Mississippi office in Meridian, Simply Irresistable in Quitman, or Citizens National Bank in Philadelphia.

For additional information call 601-693-2732 or WWW.UWEM.ORG.

By the Numbers

• There are 16,211 children enrolled in the Imagination Library in the state of Mississippi.

• 22 counties out of the 82 counties in Mississippi have the Imagination Library.

• Approximately 93 cities/zip codes within those 22 counties receive Imagination Library books.

• United Way of East Mississippi’s Lauderdale County Affiliate has the most children enrolled of any other Imagination Library in the state of Mississippi with 2219. (United Way of East Mississippi’s coverage also includes the Quitman School District, Neshoba County, and Kemper Co which total an additional 1,821 children who receive free books.)