ELEPHANTINE EFFORTS raised more than $185,000 at Karamu XVI, the annual black-tie gala for the Lowry Park Zoo, on Saturday. A tusk-ful of that cash came from elephant sponsorships auctioned by WFLA-Ch. 8 sports anchor J.P. Peterson. Don and Erika Wallace bid $30,000 to adopt for a year three elephants rescued by the zoo from Swaziland. John and Heather Caswell bid $11,000 for an additional one, calling it a wedding gift to zoo director Lex Salisbury and Elena Sheppa, who married last month. A $10-million operation, the zoo expects 800,000 visitors this year.
Many of the 400 guests began the $250 dinner parading with a yellow paper dragon that matched the theme, Komodo & Kimonos, an Imperial Evening. Some ended with a sneak preview of the zoo's newest exhibit, Safari Africa, opening next month. In between, they explored the silent auction and dined on filet mignon and sea bass from Roy's. AmSouth Bank foretold its sponsorship via fortune cookie messages.
Full Circle rocked, taking a break for chairwoman Missy Weiner to announce that Heather Weeks won the raffled trip to Tanzania. Weiner also dubbed Mindy Murphy to be next year's chairwoman.
A few days earlier on April 1, Gail and Saade Chibani warmly welcomed 80 patrons, called Bwanas, to their Culbreath Isles home. At 6 p.m., they knew only a few guests. By 8, they knew everyone. Carrabba's Italian Grill catered dinner poolside and dessert on the third-floor balcony. Tiffany & Co. gifted $500 patrons with a porcelain box.
GIRL SCOUTS PLEDGE: It all comes down to confidence, said Deborah Norville, speaking candidly at the annual Women of Distinction luncheon hosted by the Girl Scouts of Suncoast Council on March 30. The host of Deborah Norville Tonight and Inside Edition chatted for 40 minutes about growing up in Girl Scouts Troop 1210 in Dalton, Ga., media turf battles, mothering and more. Her advice: Cry in the shower and belly laugh every day. She even introduced a verb, "Norvilled," which she defined as "to be unfairly dismissed from a job."
Guests listened raptly over pad thai, Double Dutch Chocolate-Chocolate Chips Girl Scout cookies and orange mousse. Two speakers preceded Norville: Plant High Girl Scout Sally Krikorian and Marion Rich, a 2002 Woman of Distinction. Emcee Gayle Sierens, a WFLA-Ch. 8 anchor, introduced three of the four 2004 Women of Distinction, who were selected for being role models for girls. They are Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, SunTrust banker Belinda Wilson and St. Petersburg Times executive vice president Marty Petty. The fourth, state Rep. Sandra Murman, R-Tampa, was in Tallahassee. Artist Karen Arch designed the honorees' pins.
ALWAYS IN FASHION: For 56 years, the Tampa Woman's Club's Fashionollia has raised money for just about every charity in Tampa, including the Judeo-Christian Health Clinic, this year's beneficiary. The fashionable tradition continued March 27 at the Wyndham Westshore. Natasha Phillips Sherwood narrated as the models, including clinic doctors and volunteers and School Board member Carol Kurdell, strolled the runway in Dillard's fashions. Vocalist Zandra Moore sang for the 250 women, many dressed in spring pastels topped off with a straw hat.
305 CIRCLE LAUNCHED: How fitting for the 305 Circle to be introduced at the home of former state Sen. Helen Gordon Davis, founder of the Centre for Women at 305 S Hyde Park Ave. Almost 100 guests arrived at her Davis Islands home March 25 eager to hear about the 305 Circle and to see a video on new programs to promote self-sufficiency in women, girls and the elderly.
"This is not your mother's Centre for Women," said executive director Beth Ficquette, discussing changes in transitional counseling and services offered for free or a nominal cost. New and former board members urged guests to donate $100 or more, which will be matched by Bank of America this month.
BEST WISHES to city creative industries manager Paul Wilborn and actor/model Eugenie Bondurant, who wed Saturday afternoon overlooking a pond in friends Doug and Maureen Cohn's artful garden. Champagne in hand, guests compared entering the contemporary Sunset Park estate to walking through the pages of Architectural Digest. One guest, Mayor Pam Iorio, was delighted to learn that the Cohn's landscape architect is the same one the city hired to design the new cultural arts district park.
Beneath a perfect blue sky, Poet Laureate James Tokley put passion into verse. Timing being everything, a squadron of U.S. Navy Blue Angels in town for AirFest 2004 appeared to dip their wings to the newlyweds. Later that night, the couple partied with a few hundred friends and jammed at a reunion of the groom's band, Paul and the Pop Tarts, at Viva La Frida near their home in Seminole Heights.
- Last week was such a busy week, I ran out of space. Find out about the Cattle Barons Ball and other events in next week's Diary. Amy Scherzer can be reached at 813 226-3332 or at scherzer@sptimes.com
DATEBOOK
TUESDAY: Joshua House Child Abuse Awareness Luncheon; noon; Tampa Marriott Waterside; $40; 949-8946.
WEDNESDAY: 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.
APRIL 17: Third annual Star's for Life Gala benefits Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; 7:30 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Tampa; $85 or $150 per couple; 258-0266.
APRIL 17: 10th annual Orchid Gala benefits Asthma & Allergy Foundation, Florida Chapter; 6 p.m.; Tampa Marriott Waterside; $150; 885-4484.
APRIL 24: Aladdin, Storybook Ball benefits Ronald McDonald House; 6 p.m.; Raymond James Stadium; $200; 258-6430.
APRIL 24: Heart Ball benefits the American Heart Association; 6:30 p.m.; Desert Grill at Busch Gardens; $300; 1-800-275-0448.
