And a Great Time Was Had by All …
By Sarah A. Cart
What a fun All Charities Weekend (ACW) that was!
It began with a huge crowd turning out Friday evening for the Silent Auction preview. The Carysfort
Ballroom dazzled thanks to Silent Auction chairs Lori and Brad Young and their committee.
Members found a broad selection of beautifully illuminated items available for bid, from wines and spirits, to electronics, artwork, and jewelry. While considering all the possibilities and noting “wish list” items, those who came had the opportunity to taste and vote on the Members Choice wines for next season as well as sip and compare four select bourbons while catching up with friends and neighbors.
Brad and Lori Young, 2024 Silent Auction Chairs and next year’s All Charities Weekend Co-Chairs.
And the lobby was abuzz, too, with larger items on display from a Club Car golf cart to a pair of electric bikes, two stand-up paddleboards, and a gold Vespa, as members took advantage of opportunities to talk with representatives from several of All Charities’ Preferred Partners.
Come Saturday morning: Thanks to the sunshine, the next day lots of people took the opportunity to check out the display of NetJets at the Airport and admire the Lazzara yacht in Slip F1, but a bit of chill in the air also inspired many to return to Carysfort Ballroom for burgers, beer, and bidding.
That evening, attendance at the black tie gala broke records. Dapper gentlemen arrived with ladies in gorgeous gowns to enjoy cocktails and one last look at the Silent Auction selections before moving to the gorgeously candlelit Town Hall, aglow with sequin tablecloths and spectacular floral displays.
Susie Misini-Hassett and Cathy Totonis, 2024 All Charities Weekend co-chairs, welcomed everyone and thanked their hard-working and dedicated team of volunteers. With the help of adorable photos of their beloved four-legged pups, they encouraged all in the room to demonstrate their loyalty to the All Charities cause in the form of animated, passionate, whole-hearted, and relentless bidding. And then Auctioneer David Goodman went to work, and even a brief power outage couldn’t dim the excitement. The crowd was delighted to take part in his “Heads or Tails” challenge, from which Ann Van Ness walked away as the victor with a new Apple iPad Air in her hands, and at the very end of the evening, Joanie Rich was ecstatic to win the drawing for the 2024 Lexus RX350.
Imagined possibilities will now be able to transform into reality, not just for auction winners, but also for all those to whom the Ocean Reef Community Foundation (ORCF) will be able to make grants in the coming months, as All Charities, conceived in 2008 to minimize the number of fundraising events held each season, facilitates the Foundation’s provision of financial grants focused on youth, education, community, and health and family services to assist thousands of our neighbors in Key Largo, Homestead and Florida City, as well as supporting and strengthening the non-profit entities here on The Reef: the Medical Center, Cultural Center, Academy, Art League, ORCAT and Conservation Association. In 2009, ORCF awarded 17 grants totaling $365,000; coming into ACW 2024, nearly $65 million had been raised and $21 million passed through to our neighboring communities.
The final numbers will take a few weeks to shake out, but there is no doubt the funds raised will fuel miracles. Thank you, Ocean Reef.
In the meantime, some people are curious and have asked, “What did X go for?” If you’re one of those, know that the bid site (while now closed to bidding, of course), is still available. You can look up a Silent Auction item by simply logging onto bidorc.org.
Want to know more about All Charities? You can call the office at 305-367-5996 or email AllCharities@OceanReef.com.
Featured above: Joannie Rich, Lexus raffle winner, with her husband Mike Rich.