TORRINGTON – With ball gowns and boots, blue jeans and tails, another Eastern Wyoming College Foundation Sagebrush & Roses gala fundraiser is in the rear-view mirror.
And, according to all reports, this year’s event was a rousing success.
“I thought it was wonderful,” said EWC Foundation President Todd Peterson. “It was the best attended we’ve ever had. Everybody I talked to enjoyed themselves.”
Following the obligatory social hour and dinner, attendees danced the night away Saturday in the Rendezvous Center here to Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band. Even as the evening got underway, spirits were high for a pleasant event.

A highlight of the evening was an exhibit of architectural plans, concept drawings and even material samples for the planned Agriculture Technology Education Center. Funding is already rolling in for the ATEC building and a capital campaign is in the offing to gather the remainder of the needed financing, Peterson said.
Sagebrush & Roses started about 11 years ago. The first gathering was hosted in the Parish Hall at St. Rose Catholic Church in Torrington, a significantly smaller venue than houses the gala event today, Peterson said.
Attendance at the Saturday event was 390, said John Hansen, director of institutional development for EWC. The event raised about $16,000 to help fund ag scholarships at the school.
Peterson said he’s been involved with the EWC Foundation, and Sagebrush & Roses event, almost since
the beginning.
It was started to help finance scholarships for students studying agriculture at EWC, he said. It’s expanded a bit since then to include financial support of the school’s livestock judging teams.
“It’s just grown, received more community support over the years,” he said. “The committee has done such a good job of promoting it.
“What’s nice about it is, it’s an event where we get a lot of younger people in the community out,” Peterson said. “I think it’s grown beyond what was ever imagined when they started it.”