RED HOT NUMBERS: The "Celebration" started way before Kool & the Gang rocked to their 1980s hit song at the Magnolia Ball on Saturday night. By the time the dance floor filled, the annual gala had raised $400,000 for the Magnolia Lodging Program, which helps patients and their families at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. That impressive sum sends the Magnolia Ball to the top of Tampa fundraisers, just as Moffitt is consistently named one America's best hospitals.
How'd they do it? A $5,000 bid for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, for one thing. Auctioneers Tampa Bay Buc Keenan McCardell and Laura York sold the puppy for $5,000 to Moffitt board member Timm Harmon and his wife, Anita, who bought their first dog at the 2000 Magnolia Ball.
As the 860 black-tied guests ate beef tenderloin and lobster tail at A La Carte Pavilion, they saw the picture of ReMax ACR Elite Realtor Mary Diaz. She couldn't be there but, for sponsoring the $3,500 centerpieces, got her business card on every table.
ABC News anchor and cancer survivor Sam Donaldson, chairman of Moffitt's Board of Advisors, raised $2,500 when the Harmons bought a VIP package including seats at his table and a visit with Kool & the Gang.
Honorary chairs Terrin and Rich McKay helped put together a 10-day road trip that sold for $6,000. David de la Parte and Nick Porter got use of a Pusher RV from Lazydays RV Center, tickets to the Nov. 14 Falcons/Bucs game in Atlanta, a tailgate party and $500 in gas money from Getty Petroleum. The live auction culminated with a $16,000 bid by Anthony Giallourakis for a Civil War-era gold coin salvaged from the SS Republic by Odyssey Marine Exploration.
STAND BY ME: Florida Orchestra supporters sang with Ben E. King, former lead singer of The Drifters, at Mozart, Motown & More on May 7. A sampling of Mozart followed dinner, directed by associate conductor Susan Haig. Then King turned up the nostalgia volume at the A La Carte Pavilion and 275 guests swayed to This Magic Moment, danced to Spanish Harlem and remembered Under the Boardwalk. Standout live auction buy: an original composition by bassoonist Mark Sforzini to be performed by the Florida Orchestra Chamber Players at Ruth Eckerd Hall. South Tampa ophthalmologist Jack Guggino bid $4,000, helping the orchestra net $55,000.
CAN BANNED: SilverSpoons & Sandcastles XIII raked in almost $140,000 for the Mayor's Beautification Program May 7. The 900 guests raved about the spacious Tampa Port Authority's Cruise Terminal 3 and tropical cuisine catered by Mise en Place. The lighting and servers' T-shirts changed with each new course. Grey Goose Vodka donated clever cocktail concoctions.
Silent auction tables edged the buffet, including Guy King's Heavenly Hibiscus and "celebrity-painted" watering cans. So where was mine? Nowhere to be found. Apparently, a media sponsor - another local newspaper - banned my can decorated with colorful City Times clippings and beads. C'mon, colleagues, this was for charity.
My favorite item: the Social Butterfly package of tickets to six charity events, including Pavilion, sold to Susan and Larry Baisden for $700.
EYE CANDY: Those hard-partying 13 Ugly Men tried out a new venue for their annual White Party on Saturday night, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and weren't disappointed. Most of the 800 guests showed up dressed in white to lounge around the pool and watch eye candy in the swimsuit fashion show. They found shrimp and sushi, a Tuscan antipasto and lots of desserts. Synchronicity and DJ Mad Linx entertained. We heard the party went on till dawn inside Floyd's restaurant. Diabetic Charitable Services will get a $5,000 donation from the event.
YEARLY WRAP-UP: Outgoing-president Lisa Andrews passed the gavel to Susan Thompson at the Junior League of Tampa's annual dinner May 4 at the Marriott Tampa Waterside. Members watched a Nordstrom's fashion show and a video of this year's thrift sale finale and preparations for its replacement: the Holiday Gift Market Oct 22-24 at a Tampa Port Authority cruise terminal.
Well-deserved honors: Janice Straske and Laura Farrior presented their grandmother, Martha Ferman, the Lifetime Commitment Award. Patty Ayala named Del Clarke Sustainer of the Year.
MAY DAY SOIREE: Friends of the Tampa Garden Center sowed the seeds for renovations at the Bayshore Boulevard club at For the Love of a Garden May 1. Nearly 300 came for cocktails and an auction, which includes finds such as an mosaic rooster by Carole Guyton that sold for $2,000. Organizers presented honorary chairwoman Martha Robbins Hall with a framed drawing used on the invitations by artist Carla Rieger. The $35,000 proceeds will enhance the grounds and ballroom, said Joanne Frazier and Denise Rasmussen, co-chairs for the second year.
THANK YOU, TOM: Say goodbye to Tom Haines the go-to guy since 1990 at the Hyatt Regency downtown Tampa, which calls itself "the social address for the city." As head of food and beverage and catering and convention services for the 521-room hotel, Haines planned hundreds of fashion shows and charity balls for nonprofit organizations. His flair for fundraising on a budget will be missed as he moves to Loew's Royal Pacific hotel at Universal Studios in Orlando.
- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com
DATEBOOK
TODAY: Follow Your Heart Around the World dinner and auction benefits Heartbeat International; 7 p.m.; Higgins Hall; $75; 243-8769.
SATURDAY: Imagination, the second annual gala benefit for KidCity, the Children's Museum of Tampa; 7 p.m.; John F. Germany Public Library, $200 (sold out); 760-1111.
THURSDAY: Oh, What a Knight benefits the Hillsborough Association for Retarded Citizens; 6 p.m.; Busch Gardens, $150; 273-6363.
MAY 22: Artists and Writers Ball: Bohemian Bubbas 'n' Babes benefits Mental Health Care Foundation; 7 p.m.; Italian Club, 1731 E Seventh Ave; $85 in advance, $95 at the door; 272-2878.
MAY 22: Sea Grapes wine tasting and auction benefits Florida Aquarium; 7 p.m.; $50 aquarium members, $55 non-members; all tickets $60 after May 18; must be 21 to attend, bring ID; 273-4568.
MAY 22: Starry Starry Night dinner benefits Friends of Joshua House; 7 p.m.; Harbour Island home of Ron and Bev Bailey; $500; limited to 100 guests; 949-8946, ext. 275.
