COEUR d’ALENE — Though the night was dark and dreary, indoors was a sea of smiling faces — and flannel. 

Lots of flannel. 

More than 200 people clad in flannel clothing, including a few onesies, filled the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn on Thursday night for the Kroc Center’s “Flannel Fest” Red Kettle Gala. 

The Ray and Joan Kroc Endowment and Kroc memberships cover all the center’s expenses. That means all donations to the Kroc Center, including the proceeds of Thursday’s gala, go to support community outreach programs. 

During the gala, community members paused to reflect on the tragedy of June 29, when a man ambushed firefighters who responded to a blaze he had set on Canfield Mountain, fatally shooting two and seriously wounding a third. 

Representatives from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department received a standing ovation from the crowd. 

A moment of silence followed, recognizing the fallen firefighters, battalion chief John Morrison of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and KCFR battalion chief Frank Harwood. 

Lts. Jeff and Kristin Boyd, the Kroc Center’s Salvation Army Corps Officers, offered a prayer to honor the Harwood and Morrison families. They also prayed for Dave Tysdal, who sustained serious injuries in the attack and lost movement in his legs. 

The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department announced in September that Tysdal is progressing in his rehabilitation after recovering from sepsis. 

“We thank you for the healing that you’ve already provided, Lord, and we pray for a miraculous healing,” Jeff Boyd said. 

Though the Kroc Center has existed in Coeur d’Alene for 16 years, Kristin Boyd said the Salvation Army has served the community for much longer than that — for 118 years, to be precise, since 1907. 

That enduring commitment to North Idaho is as strong as ever. Jeff Boyd said the Kroc Center directly impacts roughly one in three Kootenai County residents through its social service programs. 

It’s those programs that Thursday night’s gala will fund. 

The Kroc Center is much more than a fitness center, said director of development Amy Voeller.

Donor-funded outreach programs also make a measurable difference in the community, from the Third-Grade Swim Program that provides life-saving water safety skills to children throughout Kootenai County to vouchers that allow uninsured community members access to counseling and beyond. 

“None of that would happen without the support of our community,” Voeller said. 

Time and again, Voeller said Flannel Fest gives community members a chance to support valuable programs while sharing an unforgettable night. 

“If you come once, you’ll come year after year,” she said. “It’s so North Idaho.”