Maddie Shannon / The Collegian
Even interior design majors like the outdoors.
Fresno State’s chapter of The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) held its first fundraiser of the year at Kingsburg’s Lucky H Ranch on Saturday.
“We started the year with no money,” said Alison Hummer, ASID president. “We’re fundraising as much as we can to save up for upcoming events.”
ASID’s fundraiser included a dinner program that featured a barbeque dinner, ice cream sundae bar, an after-dark wagon ride and a raffle.
“We’ve never done a fundraiser quite like this before,” said Juli Hernandez, ASID’s fundraising chair. “It is a much-needed event because we’re low in funds. Even the shirts that the ASID girls are wearing today are from last year because we couldn’t buy new ones.”
Because it is a national organization, ASID has chapters in various cities across the United States. The chapter at Fresno State is a specialized chapter because it is a student-oriented chapter.
“Fresno State’s chapter has been around for over 20 years,” said Hummer. “But the actual society has been around for a long time.”
ASID club officers want to improve their funds to participate in industry events, like an upcoming land surfaces expo in Las Vegas.
“The Vegas expo has a counters and tile surface show that all of us are interested in,” said Nichole Krebs-Lopez, ASID’s hospitality chair. “It’s a chance for us to be around like-minded people in our field and throw around design ideas. It’s a good place to meet professionals.”
Krebs-Lopez added that last year’s Las Vegas Expo had Home and Garden TV star Kim Myles from the TV show Myles of Style as a keynote speaker.
“For this year’s expo, we’re hoping to fundraise enough to send 20 people to Vegas,” said Krebs-Lopez. “We want as many students to go as possible, so now we’re trying to organize fundraising events that are fun for everyone.”
Though the club is faced with the challenge of raising funds to engage its members in professionally oriented activities, the chapter is comprised of new officers this year.
“New people in the club bring new ideas,” said Krebs-Lopez. “So we have a fresh start for our club this year. We also have three different advisors for our club, who are all really helpful and willing to do what it takes for the club.”
Lucky H Ranch, owned by Krebs-Lopez’s family, was built a year ago and just opened for business to do public events. The ranch is host to events coordinated by The Kingsburg Rotary Club and local schools take field trips to the family’s pumpkin patch.
“We grow most of the pumpkins ourselves, and the rest of the pumpkins we have available were shipped in from the coast,” said Travis Helm, the owner of Lucky H Ranch.
The family’s pumpkin patch played a key role in ASID’s fundraiser. Families with small children came out during the day to buy pumpkins to carve for Halloween.
“We want to come up with new ways to interest people in interior design who don’t work in the field,” said Krebs-Lopez.
The idea worked.
“I came out here to enjoy the day and help out my friends,” said Michelle Vorhees, a friend of Krebs-Lopez. “I found out they were having a fundraiser out here and decided to come and support them.”