Serve & Connect announces 3rd Annual Gala

Serve & Connect has announced that the Third Annual Knight of Honor Gala will be held this year on September 28, 2018 at 6:30 in the evening at 701 Whaley Street in Columbia, South Carolina. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at https://serveandconnect.net/celebrate.

Lords and ladies will take a step back in time at this one-of-a-kind event. Upon entering the event, guests will be transported to a bygone European era featuring a renaissance village, knights, and more. Medieval-fare prepared by Southern Way Catering will delight as guests travel to various artisans and entertainers throughout the evening. Libations will be generously poured in the Cottontown Tavern, with local craft beer provided by Cottontown Brew Lab in addition to wine. Once the clock strikes a half past eight o’clock in the evening, guests will be invited into the Grand Hall for a ceremonious occasion where six police officers from across the state of South Carolina will be inducted as Knights of the Round Table along with one outstanding police-community partnership. One knight will receive the highest honor, the Officer Gregory Alia Award for excellence in community service.

Twenty-five officers representing 11 counties statewide have been nominated to join the Knights of the Round Table. Previously knighted officers and community leaders will hand-select 6 officers that have put forward every effort in building up the community that they serve to join them at the Round Table this year.

Knight of Honor is an evening to celebrate those who make a difference in our communities. The funds raised at this event will go towards Serve & Connect’s overall mission of building community through partnerships. Serve & Connect believes that when police and community come together, the partnerships formed can ignite improvements in well-being for everyone.

Now in its third year, Knight of Honor was created by Kassy Alia as a way to recognize how both police and citizens build community through acts of compassion and kindness after her husband, Forest Acres Police Officer Gregory Alia, was killed in the line of duty in September 2015.

“That first year we wanted a theme that was innovative and fit our desire to change the conversation between cops and community,” Alia said. “Greg’s best friend, Chris Scott, was the one who proposed ‘Knight of Honor’ as a theme that fit our goals and also would have been something that Greg would have found exciting. From that idea, the vision continued to grow. We selected the time of year—late September—as a way to remember Greg’s sacrifice and also remember how police and community came together following the 2015 flood. This year, we seek to magnify our focus on community building. Every detail of the event will be crafted to celebrate connections among us and redefine what it means to be a knight today.”

Knight of Honor is presented by The City of Forest Acres. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available and include VIP Seating, a VIP Cocktail Reception, and more. For more information on the event or how to become a sponsor, please visit https://serveandconnect.net/celebrate or email [email protected].