Gila River Indian Community to sponsor benefit dinner

The Gila River Indian Community, a Native American reservation located south of Phoenix, Tempe and Chandler, will be the sole Platinum sponsor for the 19th annual Josiah N. Moore Scholarship Benefit Dinner, scheduled for 6 p.m., Nov. 2 at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino, 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., Chandler.

The dinner, hosted by the ASU Alumni Association’s Native American alumni chapter, delivers financial opportunity to Native American ASU students by raising money for the chapter’s scholarship endowment fund.

The event is a tribute to Josiah N. Moore, a 1970 graduate of ASU who was chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation in the 1980s and early 1990s. Moore was a strong advocate for increasing higher educational opportunities for Native Americans and co-founded ASU’s Native American alumni chapter in 1988.

Victor Begay, chair of the organizing committee for the dinner, said Gila River Indian Community’s sponsorship contribution of $5,000 was crucial to the success of the benefit dinner, which is the group’s signature fundraising event.

“Gila River’s sponsorship will allow us to direct more funds from the dinner toward scholarships that help Native American youth to achieve their dreams through a college education,” said Begay. “We thank them for supporting today’s Native American students, who will be the leaders of our communities in the future.”

Tickets to the benefit dinner are $55 and must be ordered by Oct. 18. To learn more about the event or RSVP/order tickets, visit http://alumni.asu.edu/josiahmooredinner.