At Your Service
6/8/2013Celebrity wait nights bloomed this spring along with events that highlighted chefs.
Central Catholic High School's seventh annual Celebrity Wait Night at the Premier Complex was an evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and wonderful entertainment by the Central Catholic Glee Club for about 250 attendees.
School president Tom Maj welcomed everyone and emcee Dan Saevig of the University of Toledo kept the evening moving.
Honored with a roast and toast was attorney Henry Herschel.
Roasters were Lucas County Probate Court Judge Jack Puffenberger, Lucas County Clerk of Courts Bernie Quilter, The Blade's president and general manager Joe Zerbey, and attorney Marty Holmes, a Central graduate who was named next year's honoree.
Celebrity waiters included alumni Art Ingram, Joe Scalzo, Dave Smith, Dave Toska, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez, Central head football coach Greg Dempsey, Bill Carroll, whose wife Cathy, came and did most of his work, plus many staffers and community folks.
Nearly $20,000 was raised for scholarships.
The Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1961 and named for Toledo's glass industry, hosted a celebrity wait night at Brandywine Country Club. The Glassmen are not active this year, but by raising funds they hope to be back next year. $6,600 was netted.
The Perrysburg Area Historic Museum, Inc. celebrity wait night at Stella's raised $3,000 for renovations of the 1823 Spafford House in the new museum. Event chairmen were Polly White and Phyllis Morton.
Bethany House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children, hosted a celebrity wait night at Real Seafood Company and raised more than $18,000, according to volunteer event chairman Kim Marion. Among the novice waiters were board chairman Art Jones, Carla Ulrich, Katie Rofkar, Janet Robinson, Jim Pope, Sandy Isenberg, and Paul Sullivan.
It started out as a celebrity wait night but in recent years has been a dinner party. Stu and Jo-Jo Goldberg hosted their annual event to benefit the American Heart Association in memory of Stu's father, David R. Goldberg, and his friend, John Cerutti, and raised more than $15,000. The top floor of One SeaGate gave a perfect view of the city as guests feasted on a tasty buffet provided by Karyn and Labib Hajjar of the Beirut.
Local artist Klaire Russell did a painting on site that was later sold. Raq the Casbah provided tunes and a belly dancer. Speakers were cardiologist Dr. David Pinsky and pediatric cardiologist Dr. Caren Goldberg, Stu's sister. Acoustic music by Stu featured his sons, Josh Goldberg and Adam Goldberg, and brother Steve Goldberg.
Among the guests were Stu's mom Harriet Goldberg, Dan Steinberg, Jon and Debbie Liebenthal, Tom Gibney, Carrie Sponseller, Mayor Mike Bell, Dr. Renee Pinsky, and Stu's old wrestling pals, including Tom Bloomer, Brad Bloomer, John Howard, and Eric Kronk.
Maumee Valley Country Day School hosted its annual Top Chef fund-raiser at the school and netted more than $100,000. Kudos to sponsors including BuckeyeCablesystem, First Federal Bank, Rudolph Libbe, and the Collaborative, participants, attendees, and event chairmen Areka and Tim Foster, and Lisa and Brian Reddy.
The Sizzlin' Hawks team -- Linda and Fred Deichert and Kathleen and Mark Frasco won the award for generating the most tips. The Rebel Vegans -- Laura and Rick Avery, Jean Kay, and Scott Lee -- won the People's Choice Award for their culinary talents.
Seen were Dave Francisco and Patty Wise, Jay and Trina Secor, Anisha Dayal and Ned Lakshimapathy, Gary Boehm and Bonnie Boehm-Blankinship, and Serena and Tom Williams.
Shaken or Stirred? presented by ProMedica Flower Hospital Auxiliary was at Bar 145 under a giant tent. Guests sampled hors d' oeuvres by area chefs and tasted martinis by mixologist Jake Guthrie as music filled the air.
A Wine Grab where guests paid $25 to get a $25 bottle of wine or a bottle worth as much as $300 was exciting, especially for Mike Skaff, who won a $300 bottle of Merlot.
Wine/dinner packages prepared by local chefs at their restaurant or at the winning bidder's home were auctioned off by Richard Leonard and raised $17,900.
More than $30,000 was raised to benefit Hickman Cancer Center and Vascular Rehab Center at Flower Hospital. Event chairmen Barbara Baumgartner, Beth Carr, and Diane Dooley were assisted by junior chairman Ben Treece.
Committee members included Polly Tate, Bill Puckett, Cookie Westmeyer, Susan Mason, Patricia Hilfinger, Amy Peters, Diane Shull, Kaiko Zureich, Kate Adams-Nameche, Tolani Kashimawo, Michael Sordyl, Brandon Saba, and Gary Vancena.
Among the more than 250 attendees were ProMedica Flower Hospital President Alan Sattler and wife Lisa and Auxiliary President Ann Galloway. Also seen were Dick and Robin LaValley, Donna Owens, Keith and Katy Walker, Kara Nachtrab, Mike and Liz Skaff, Dorotha and Jerry Baum, Paul Devers, Drs. Steve and Neerja Jindal, and Dr. Parag and Shilpa Parikh.