Behind the Mask king, queen announced
Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 28, 2016
LaGRANGE — The city has a new King and Queen at the head of its royal monarchy – if only for a night.
Twin Cedars Youth and Family Services announced Wednesday the winners of the 2016 Behind the Mask fundraising campaign.
Dale Jackson, owner of Jackson Heating and Air, is the new king and Pam Herndon has been voted in as this year’s queen.
The two candidates beat out 18 other people to win the coveted title.
Both were apart of this year’s royal court and had just over a month to campaign for votes – which cost $1.
The campaign ended Monday at noon when the candidates had to turn over all the money they raised throughout the month.
According to Jackson, he beat his personal goal of $10,000 – and ended up turning in more than $14,000. Herndon said Monday she knew she had also exceeded her goal of raising $5,000.
Lisa Wicker, public relations director for Twin Cedars, confirmed Thursday afternoon all the nominees went above and beyond to raise funds for the event. According to Twin Cedars, the 20 candidates on the royal court raised a combined, record breaking $72,848.
All the money will benefit families and children in the community served by more than a dozen Twin Cedars programs.
The nominees original goal was to raise $38,000.
“This was an amazing year for Twin Cedars in the candidates involvement and donations,” Wicker stated. “Our candidates got the community at large involved in the campaign and there was an opportunity for everyone involved to support Twin Cedars.
“This year promises to be a record year for the children and families served by Twin Cedars,” she added. “All of the money will stay in our community to support all of the programs and services offered by the organization.”
The winners will be officially crowned during a special ceremony before the Behind the Mask ball this Saturday at 6 p.m. on the rooftop of the Del’Avant.
The Mardi Gras themed dinner and dance event is already sold out.