SITCOM SALUTE: At first glance, it looked like a doctors lounge or a military mess hall. Then, I realized all those Hawkeyes and Hot Lips dressed in comfy scrubs and camouflage were at the fourth MASH Bash benefit for the American Red Cross' Tampa Bay chapter. Didgeridoo players set the "R&R in Australia" theme at the A La Carte Pavilion for 270 guests during the silent auction. Alan Darcy rocked the dance floor.
Suspense built as it came time to announce the Halo Award, the coveted prize for volunteerism. Sally Hill, the 1996 recipient, presented the trophy to the University of Tampa, embodied by president Ron Vaughn and his wife, Martha, and Susan and John Sykes, chairman of UT's board. Hill thanked them for hosting so many Red Cross events at "your home, the university."
Counting the $17,000 raised by top Liberty sponsor coordinators Angeles Ferlita and Karol Bullard, the event raised $95,000. Red Cross life board member Van McNeel paid for the dinners of many military personnel.
On March 22, the Red Cross Angels raised another $6,800 at Looks & Living, a fashion show at the Centre Club. Angels modeled styles from Kit's Well-Heeled & Well Dressed. A Source for Home passed around table settings to view during the luncheon.
GOLDEN GOALS: Guests sparkled and students gleamed at the Gemstone Gala benefit Saturday for Academy Prep in Ybor City. Tere Tamayo thought up the theme because she considers the children at the school run by her stepson Lincoln Tamayo to be "diamonds in the rough," she said.
Auctioneer Kevin Burns of Estate Jewelry Buyers kept the bidding luxe and lively. Kristen and Cary Showalter bought a year of cooking lessons from 12 local restaurants, one a month, for eight people for $5,800.
Fifty glasses of champagne sold fast at $50 each. Eighteen of them held a real gemstone; the others had a synthetic stone.
The school's first formal fundraiser owes much to the buzz of a well-connected committee, including: Gail Whiting, Dorothy Alfonso, Lyris Newman, Betsy Stagg, Celia Ferman, Sulein Santini, Don and Leslie Jennewein, Cathy Unruh and Erin Kennedy-Bohacek. Columbia Restaurant owners Richard and Melanie Gonzmart wowed the 230 guests at the Hyatt Regency Tampa with a $100,000 pledge.
YBOR RENEWAL: Hundreds came to remember the past and predict the future at the Ybor City Museum Society's Re-Live It on March 26. Four restored casitas, cigar workers homes in the early 1900s, were relocated to 19th Street (between Eighth and Ninth avenues) and will be rented out to stores, galleries and possibly a grocery.
"This is preservation at its best," beamed city Councilwoman Mary Alvarez, noting that the Department of Transportation paid for the move and renovations.
The Italian Club, Cuban Club/Krewe of Mambi, Centro Asturiano and Centro Espanol invited $30-ticket holders in the casitas to see memorabilia, eat and play dominoes. Flamenco dancers and others entertained on the street stage.
Ybor personalities Tedd Webb, E.J. Salcinas, Rene Gonzalez and Jack Espinosa broadcast the event live on radio. The $50-ticket patrons stayed on for live jazz, drinks and cigars.
BASES LOADED: With a whopping $100,000 check, New York Yankees partner Jenny Swindal gave America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay its largest ever cash donation. It will cover about 600,000 meals for hungry people served by the food bank, formerly called Divine Providence. Swindal and her mom, Joan Steinbrenner, presented the gift to director Sheryl Herbert on March 24 before the exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox.
You can help the hungry, too, by taking your lunch to work June 3, National Hunger Awareness Day, dubbed Brown Bag Day. Donate the money you would have spent eating out to America's Second Harvest. They'll supply the brown bags for your office. Call 254-1190, ext. 106.
A SPECTACULAR SUNSET over Gail and Arnie Levine's back yard on the bayfront made the perfect backdrop for the GreenFest patrons party March 26. The art-filled home in Bel Mar Shores and dinner beneath Venus and a crescent moon delighted 75 Friends of Plant Park. Metro Chefs Dan Denoyer and Scott Carnes prepared Gail's luau chicken in curry and coconut milk. Guests added their own raisins, chopped peanuts and chutney toppings.
Tony Avent, international plant explorer, amused guests with his gardening adventures. On Saturday, he spoke at Plant Park about gardening for fun, not perfection.
FESTIVAL OF BASEBALL covered all its bases with a golf tournament, a Legends of Baseball alumni game and Baseball for Kids dinner March 13 at A La Carte Pavilion. Dennis Rasmussen, former New York Yankees pitcher, took over the dinner chairmanship from Ana Wallrap who ran it for the past four years. Athletes joined 600 guests, including Wade Boggs, Frank Howard, Brooks Robinson, Lou Brock, Juan Marichal, Desmond Howard and actor Jonathan Silverman. The event netted $90,000 for All Children's Hospital and the Major League Baseball Alumni Association.
- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com
SATURDAY: Las Damas del Centro Asturiano Spring Fashion Show benefits restoration fund; 11 a.m.; Tampa Airport Hilton, 2225 Lois Ave; fashions from Adria's at Melange; $35; 962-3057.
SATURDAY: Cruising Down the River auction/dinner benefits the Spring of Tampa Bay domestic shelter; 7 p.m.; Radisson Riverwalk Hotel; $150; 885-6264.
SATURDAY: Karamu XVI Komodo & Kimonos, An Imperial Evening at Lowry Park Zoo; black-tie dinner benefits the zoo; 6:30 p.m.; $250; 935-8552, ext. 239.
SATURDAY: Cattle Barons Ball benefits the American Cancer Society: 7 p.m.; A La Carte Pavilion; $175 and up; 254-3630, ext. 303.
APRIL 14: The Children's Home 10th Annual Recognition Luncheon; 11:30 a.m.; Hyatt Regency Tampa; $35; 864-1536.
APRIL 16: Spring Bonnet fashion show and doll auction benefits Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary; 11 a.m.; Salvation Army Worship Center, 1100 W Sligh Ave.; $25; 226-0055, ext. 402.
