The story of Pinocchio is about how to become “real.” To be the

architect of a vision is much like being Gepetto, and to watch the journey

of that vision as it struggles to earn its right to become “real” is a labor

of love, trust, faith and endurance.

After a four-year journey, the Preston Arboretum and Botanical

Gardens had life breathed into it by 30 celebrity waiters and 300 attendees

to the Celebrity Waiter’s dinner auction as they raised their garden stakes

high in the air to total $147,500 (including a $12,000 anonymous pledge

and $47,500 above our goal) in profit for the environmental learning center.

By doing so, these benefactors gave life to an emerging organization that

promises 300 acres of world-class display/demonstration gardens,an

environmental learning center, a sculpture garden focusing on

environmental-interpretive art and a place for

families and individuals to learn about how to walk more gently upon this earth.

The East Issaquah Creek watershed smiled Friday night and

the salmon moved further upstream due to the benevolence of the

best donors.com that the Eastside has ever collected in one room. It was a

time of joy, celebration and birth for the region’s environmental garden.

The Preston Arboretum and Botanical Gardens wish to thank all

who attended, our Honorary Chairperson, King County Executive Ron Sims

and all of our celebrity waiters for a successful event. To each and every

donor attending the event, we thank you for your generosity and support.

We are all stakeholders in this garden and it doesn’t get “real” without you.

A special thanks to our vice president and auction chairperson,

Helen Delahunt (Blue Heron Studios), for her marvelous imagination,

endurance and commitment. Thank you all for making this your garden.

Sincerely,

Susan Alexander Bond

Executive Director

Preston Arboretum and Botanical Gardens