KIRO 7 Traffic Anchor and Emcee Tracy Turner Shares why Seattle Needs the Annual Furevermore Fundraising Gala
published: 2019/10/13
By Taylor Laidley
The Furevermore Fundraising Gala is the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation’s (SASF) most anticipated event of the year. Its proceeds are essential to the survival of some of the shelter’s most important programs, including the Behavioral Training Program, which has helped save more than 3,572 animal lives to date. The Gala, which is expected to sell out this week, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at The National Nordic Museum in Ballard. We sat down with Tracy Turner, traffic anchor for KIRO 7 and emcee of this year’s event, to talk about what Seattle animal lovers can expect from the 9th annual dinner and auction and why it’s so important to the city.
What do you think makes the Furevermore Gala unique compared to other events that you’ve attended?
Tracy Turner: What makes this event unique is the people and the passion that goes into it. You can tell in the details—everything from the food that is served, to the placements on the tables, to the atmosphere, to the small talk. Even if I wasn’t a part of it every single year and asked to emcee, I’d still be there. I would still be a part of it because I totally believe in everything that they’re doing right now.
It sounds like an animal lover’s paradise.
TT: I think anybody that’s involved with animals—across the board—there’s a special place in this world for them. They have big hearts and big minds and big ideas, and if they could, they would rescue every single animal. The difference between any other shelter [foundation] and the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation is the people that are involved. They not only help with the dinner and the auction and the Gala, but they also go into the shelter and volunteer their time. And you don’t see that a lot with other animal foundations and charities. The people that are involved dedicate a lot of their time to make sure that the animals find their proper homes, get them proper training, the proper rehabilitation…At the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation—they’re just good people. And you feel that when you’re in the room. The electricity, the feeling, it’s just—you can’t describe it.
This is your fourth year as emcee for the Furevermore Gala! Tell me how you got involved with SASF.
TT: So, I am an animal advocate. Ann Graves (Executive Director of SAS) approached me and asked if I would be interested in not only supporting them, but also being their emcee one year, and I never hesitated. I love animals so very much. And if you were to come to our house, you would understand. I am one of those crazy dog ladies. I have two wiener dogs, and we’re officially getting another one in about two weeks.
That’s awesome! Are they all rescue animals?
TT: Yeah, so I rescued Lucy a little over eight years ago. And then we rescued Clark just last year. And we just adopted and rescued from the Auburn Humane Society little miss Millie. She will be joining our family here in mid-October. I’m sure you can see the theme. We have human names for all of our pets. My little girl is a “Stranger Things” fan, and she was super pumped when she found that the dog’s name was already Millie. She was like, “Oh my gosh, we don’t have to change her name!”
Why are you excited about this year’s event, and what will you bring to it?
TT: I like to call myself a facilitator of fun. I just kind of keep things moving. Any other dinner and auction can be long and drawn out and whatnot. I think the one thing that makes a difference with the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation dinner and auction is that it’s fun. They have such unique items available for auction. And people know that the money they’re spending toward them is going to help with the animals in the shelter.
Also, they really play into finding homes for their animals at the Gala. They have what they call a “kitten tent.” You can go in, and you can play with all of the kitties. When I get there, I immediately lose my child because she goes straight there, and she’ll be in there until you tell her it’s time to go. And they have people there that are educated on the animals that are up for adoption right now.
You mentioned that they have some really unique items up for auction. Can you tell me more about those items/experiences?
TT: For the last two years, they’ve had an auction item that was a ride-along with a King County Animal Control Officer. They get reports of animals in abusive situations. And you kind of see a day in the life of what they do and the calls that they go out on. I’ve talked to a couple of the animal control officers who have given their time, and some of the stories that come out of the ride-alongs are pretty interesting and pretty funny as well. Another auction item that they have is a ride-along with a King County Sheriff’s Office Canine Unit. There’s a new canine unit that came on board last year. It was unbelievable the amount of support towards it and how many people really wanted to be a part of that.
Why should Seattleites care about this event and the work that this organization is doing?
TT: The work that they’re doing is to help our community. If you are an animal lover, or if you have even just a little curiosity about what the city does when it comes to its animal control programs, this is something that you’ll want to check out.