Puttin on the Ritz for charity

From left, Virginia Shaw, Meigen McIntyre, Nicole LeBoutillier and Cindi White pictured at The Toledo Country Club.

THE BLADE/JEFFREY SMITH
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From left, Virginia Shaw, Meigen McIntyre, Nicole LeBoutillier and Cindi White pictured at The Toledo Country Club.

The weather was perfect for the Fourth Annual Cocktails for the Cure: A Lambie's Legacy Event on June 20 at Toledo Country Club. Jazz tunes filled the air as guests sipped champagne and stepped back in time to the 1920s for a black-tie event at a club that once hosted such affairs. Feathers and flowers and a 1931 Model A hinted that it was time to put on the ritz. Flapper-style dresses and gangster-style suits and hats were popular attire, no doubt inspired by the recent Great Gatsby movie. It also was the theme of a party the late Lambie Stout planned as a victory celebration before she lost her battle with cancer in 2011, so this event was in the spirit of her generosity and outreach.

Since the first event, $100,000 has been returned to the community via Lambie's Legacy: The Margaret Lamb Guyton Stout Fund at Toledo Community Foundation and Lambograms-free mammograms via ProMedica Toledo Hospital Breast Care Center and Foundation. Lambie's Legacy also supports cancer research and health awareness.

PHOTO GALLERY: Cocktails for the Cure and more

Honorary chairman Debbie Knight, a cancer survivor, and event chairmen Cindi White, Nicole LeBoutillier, Virginia Shaw, and Meigen McIntyre thanked everyone for their support. The event netted $29,500. Priscilla and Fred Schwier, Lambie's parents, and Lissa Guyton, Lambie's sister, were tickled pink with the outcome.

Thanks go to the endless list of sponsors including The Blade, the Schwier Guyton Family, HealthCare REIT, Buckeye CableSystem, Taylor Automotive Family, Waterford Bank, and Bruce Roberts Interiors.

Wish lanterns were released into the sky and speakeasy cocktails, delightful hors d'oeuvres, and sinful sweets were served. Many danced to music from Hepcat Revival while others found brew chilled in a cast-iron bathtub.

Among the more than 200 attendees, all who paid $100 each, were Dr. Robin Shermis and wife Denise, Leslie and George Chapman, Missy and George Naymay, Heather and Andy Westmeyer, Molly and Scott Thompson, Cam Nitschke, Allison and Steve Taylor, Colleen and Peter Demczuk, Kim Collins and Bill Cosgrove, Margot Estes, and Pam and Chris DiSalle.

Left to right Emily Rippe, Matt Desmond, Crystal Bowersox, and Isaac Klunk during the Undisclosed event at the Toledo School for the Arts.

Everything was white from the dinner and decor to guests' attire at the Fifth Annual Summer in Paris to benefit Beach House Family Shelter, an emergency shelter for women and families, founded by Mrs. Samuel (Helen Beach) Jones -- wife of former mayor "Golden Rule" Jones in 1921.

The June 18 event at Treo Restaurant in Sylvania was a din're blanche or white dinner, a traditional European celebration of the summer solstice. Emcee Sashem Brey of WTVG-TV, Channel 13 welcomed everyone. Champagne and hors d'oeuvres were followed by a multicourse meal with wines to match, including: chilled white asparagus, sole, and key lime pie.

Enjoying the fare were Keith and Susan Burwell, Greg Barrow, Scott and Judy Potter, Michael Rosenberg, Keith and Kathy Tuttle, Rich Schroeder, and Mark and Mary Ann Meyer.

Auctions added spirit to the night with jewelry, art, and more including a full length white lambe leather coat from Roth Furs and a 25 yrs. old bottle of Macallan scotch.

The din of chatter was vibrant from the crowd of 136. Among those enjoying the evening were Mayor Mike Bell and his mom, Ora Bell, Dean Kaplan, and Susan and Dave Black.

Event chairmen Kim Kaplan and Susan Park and committee members Mary-Bec Gwyn, Scott Cousino, and Heidi Winninger report about $34,000 was raised.

Sponsors included K-Limited Carrier LTD; Ohio Stranahan Foundation, The Andersons, Buckeye CableSystem, Gallon Takes, Boissoneault & Schaffer, Marvin Johnson & Associates, Inc., WTVG-TV, Channel 13, and many others.

Excitedly scurrying around to select their favorite pieces of art were participants in Undisclosed presented by Toledo School for the Arts June 21 in the school's art gallery. Original works by artists and other well-known people were on display and ready for grabs. Each 12-inch-by-12-inch piece, signed only on the back with the artists known only after the work was chosen, was $100. Participants had 30 seconds to select their masterpiece. Among the artists' works were Jerry Gray, Leslie Adams, and Phil Hazard, and a few non-artists' works including Jon Stainbrook and Sena Mourad Friedman, and Crystal Bowersox.

The first-time event netted about $5,000. Event chairman was Susan Conda.

High school graduation parties are prevalent this time of year, but this one was an extra-special night for Mackenzie "Mac" Marshall Botek, who just graduated from Springfield High School. The surprise entertainment for his big celebration under a giant tent in his backyard was Crystal Bowersox. The steak and lobster dinner June 22 was great, but her appearance was definitely the icing on the cake. The son of Sam and Susan Botek of Maumee, he is enrolled this fall at Marshall University, his father's alma mater.