Schedel Gardens welcomed guests for fund-raiser

Jim Shindler, left, at a party at Schedel Arboretum and Gardens, with Beth Brown, who is holding a Labino vase purchased during the event, and Rita Shindler, Janet George Ward, and Jean Ward, holding a flower arrangement he bought.

Sunday was quite a day for the Schedel Arboretum and Gardens in Elmore, Ohio. Its second annual Hidden Gardens Party for nearly 200 guests netted more than $55,000 dollars and a delightful time, too.

The Toledo Symphony Orchestra Jazz Trio serenaded guests as they mingled in the party area flanked on one side by the upper lake and a waterfall, the source of a brook flowing into a tranquil Japanese garden.

Delectable edibles were prepared and served by Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, with desserts by Sofo's and a wine tasting offered by Mid-Ohio Wines.

Jim Shindler, left, at a party at Schedel Arboretum and Gardens, with Beth Brown, who is holding a Labino vase purchased during the event, and Rita Shindler, Janet George Ward, and Jean Ward, holding a flower arrangement he bought.

A live auction by auctioneer John Whalen and a silent auction offered all sorts of shoppers delights, from a day's use of a corporate airplane for five, a painting done during the party by wildlife painter Harold Roe, and a Florida condo, to the rental of the Schedel gardeners for a day, a gourmet dinner for six in the Schedel home, and a night in the Schedel guest house. In addition, a John Wurzell painting of a scene in the gardens was auctioned and purchased by Mark and Nancy Reilly of Elmore. A Labino glass vase was purchased by Beth Brown.

Among the guests were Ed and Linda Reiter, Tom and Mary Pat Anderson, Bob and Joan Samsen, Paulette Bond and Charlene Cutro, Emerson Ross and Patty Page, Jim and Rita Shindler, Pat and Marilyn McAlear, Bob and Pat Maurer, Rod and Patty Noble, David and Myrna Bryan, Dick and Kathy Faist, Jean and Janet Ward, and Dick and Dolly Flasck.

A reception for the photographers who entered the Gardens' photo contest will be Sunday. The winners of nearly $1,000 in prizes will be announced and the top 25 entries will be on exhibit in the Trellis Gallery through Oct. 15. On Monday the annual director's dinner for major donors will be held.

ANOTHER special event in town was the recent reception for former Toledoan Terrence "Terry" O'Neal, an alum of Ottawa Hills High School, who was in town visiting family. Mr. O'Neal, the president of the American Institute of Architects for the State of New York, is the first African-American to hold that post. The institute is the New York chapter of the parent organization, the American Institute of Architects in Washington.

Heather and Terrence O Neal at a reception at the Toledo Hilton in honor of Mr. O Neal, a former Toledoan who now heads his own architectural firm in New York City.

The soiree at the Toledo Hilton highlighted Mr. O'Neal's accomplishments. The owner of his own architecture firm in New York City since 1993, he has been photographed with leaders such as Hillary Clinton.

Mr. O'Neal worked summers during college at Kent State University at the former local architectural firm Bauer Stark and Lashbrook. After graduation from Kent State, he remained at the firm for a year before he headed for the Big Apple.

At the reception, proud family and friends, including Mr. O'Neal's wife, Heather, also an architect who is with the firm, were there to celebrate his achievements. Family members, including his mother, Brunetta O'Neal; father, Cleveland O'Neal, Jr.; sister, Daphne O'Neal; brother, Cleveland O'Neal III; and his brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Ivonne O'Neal and their son, Ishaam O'Neal, sponsored the event that was attended by local judges, political figures, and community leaders, including the president of the Toledo chapter of AIA, Paul Sullivan.