Last Friday, Keep Whitesboro Beautiful (KWB) held its inaugural fundraiser gala, “For the Love of Whitesboro,” at Cook’s Main Stage in downtown Whitesboro. In addition to celebrating KWB’s successes of the past year, the goal of the event was to raise awareness and generate funds for the non-profit organization. Most tickets were sold in advance and the remaining tickets were bought at the door, resulting in a sold-out event.
For $20 per person, attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner catered by the Whitesboro Independent School District (WISD) Food Services team. Past KWB vice-president and event planner Rhonda Ross gave an informative presentation highlighting the organization’s accomplishments over the past year.
In 2025 alone, KWB volunteers clocked 2,300 hours of time serving the community. Projects throughout the year ranged from Trollinger Park clean-up, an e-waste recycling program and yard of the month recognitions to serving at community events like Peanut Festival and downtown Christmas.
Also in 2025, KWB became part of the Adopt-a-Highway program, maintaining the section of road from Whitesboro’s House of Brews to Hwy. 82 along Hwy. 56. November marked the organization’s first highway clean-up, when 19 members and volunteers cleared 138 pounds of debris from the road.
KWB also made improvements to several of their processes, including strengthening their social media presence, updating their by-laws, updating membership and donation forms and offering reciprocal membership with other non-profits at no charge.
Following the presentation, headlining band (and local favorite) The Fortunate Sons performed a two-hour set that brought folks to the dance floor.
The room was beautifully decorated with floral centerpieces from Flowers By Faith. (One lucky guest from each table was randomly selected to take their table’s centerpiece home.) Attendees also enjoyed taking pictures at a Valentine-themed back drop with props.
“The event was absolutely successful and everyone had a great time,” KWB President Mark Wennstedt said. “The purpose of the event was threefold: to raise more awareness about KWB and let people know who we are and what we do; to generate interest in volunteers; and to get people to help support us financially. I think with this event we accomplished all three of those goals.”
KWB would like to thank Cook’s Main Stage, The Fortunate Sons, Whitesboro ISD Food Services, Flowers by Faith and everyone who contributed to the success of the event. The organization is hoping to make this fundraiser an annual affair.
“Our board met Monday morning and we decided that not only do we want to continue holding this event, but we want to find ways to make it even bigger and better next year,” Wennstedt said.
To keep up with KWB’s latest updates, follow their Facebook page or attend a meeting at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at First United Methodist Church of Whitesboro.
