SIXTH ANNUAL SOIREE A TRIUMPH

by Lynn Wille Fichman

After months of planning and the coordination of endless details, our Sixth Annual Soiree to benefit Pinecrest Gardens on February 24, 2012 was a huge success! Our volunteers and committees all came together seamlessly, and a wonderful time was had by all.

The evening began on the Terrace of beautiful Pinecrest Gardens with cocktails, wine, appetizers, and a huge display of silent auction items, including tables of fine jewelry provided by Maurice’s Jewelers, artwork by Britto and many local artists who had donated their works. The steel drum music of Carlton Lambert set the upbeat tone for the rest of the evening.

Dinner in the Meadow followed, and it was presented by Creative Tastes Catering. Several food stations were set up, offering many choices of fine fare. Guests lingered at the tables that had been beautifully decorated by our table committee while they indulged in the mountain of desserts that had been donated by volunteers. The evening would have been memorable if it had ended there, but the concert that was soon to follow proved to be the crescendo of the night.
Dinner guests filed into the Banyan Bowl while concert only guests anxiously waited for the gates to open and for the star to take the stage. Before long everyone was seated, the lights went up, and 2012 Grammy winner Stephen Marley began to play. Within minutes the entire audience was on its feet and carried away. Accolades were abundant and flowed for days.

None of this would have been possible without the help of so many dedicated people and sponsors. Thanks to the Village of Pinecrest for the donation of the Gardens and the police, to Gardens’ director Alana Perez and her hard working staff, to NCL Cruise Line for the donation of a Bahamas cruise, to Maurice’s Jewelers, to Whole Foods of Pinecrest and Foley Wines for the donation of wine, to Bacardi USA for the liquor and bartenders, to Johnson & Wales Culinary College for their student volunteers, to Palmer Trinity for their student volunteers, and to Joe Corradino.

We have been blessed with an incredibly dynamic and tireless group of volunteers, and much thanks goes to each and every one of them. Event chairs Pat Vandenberg and Lynn Wille Fichman thank committee heads Judy Parker, Sharon Kujawa, Christian Armstrong, Betty McCarthy, Candy McDonald, Ines Mander, Ellen Book, Paul Sasso, and JoAnn Parns, and committee members Barbara Acker, Karen Brinckerhoff, Germaine Butler, Urszula Dudek, Patsy Rodriguez, Eilene Huber, Barbara Pareira, Karen Ross, Susan Randall, Debra Wellins, Brenda Poland, and Amie Hertzig. Also, special thanks to Pat Kyle Lawrence of Galloway Farm Nursery for beautifully decorating the Gardens’ entrance, and to our angel in the office, Kathleen Bulger.

Because of this dynamic team and the love that we share for one of the most important public spaces in South Florida, the evening netted a healthy bottom line, and those funds will be used to bring it even closer to the world class botanical attraction that it is destined to be.

If you would like to view photos from our Soiree, please visit our Flickr page!