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Ball's fishy fame a good thing

Look at who's planning the annual party benefiting the Pier Aquarium. It's a quirky couple putting the "fun in fundraising. "

By MARY JANE PARK
Published October 29, 2006

With a 1960s-themed home filled with phonograph records, movie memorabilia and vintage furnishings, Gloria and Jeff Wilcox seem to be the perfect pair for planning a beach party.

Surf's Up - this year's Fish Head Ball to benefit the Pier Aquarium - will be the fourth in a row for the couple, who moved to St. Petersburg from Minnesota three years ago.

Hours of sweat equity go into planning and preparing for the event, which draws more participants every year. About 500 guests packed the house at the 2005 event. The winning formula seems to be affordable ticket prices, imaginative decor and a high fun quotient.

"We put fun in fundraising," Jeff Wilcox said, and Gloria giggled as she listed the names of various areas that will be part of Saturday's party at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront.

The bar area? Look for Slurp's Up. Pastries and other sweets can be found at Dessert Island. Signs near the restrooms will read: Wipeout Zone.

Gloria Wilcox chairs the decorating committee for this year's event. Organizers like to minimize costs, so she and her husband reused some materials from a nearby supermarket renovation.

Slabs of foam core became signage, including a billboard for the band, the Surfin' Raccoons. There will be beach balls and palm trees, and Jeff Wilcox is working on a St. Petersburg-themed sand box, with images of sky and water, Tropicana Field and the Sunshine Skyway.

Gloria Wilcox, a longtime volunteer and professional event planner, and Jeff Wilcox, a graphic artist and marketing expert, came to St. Petersburg in 2003 to be near their daughter, Jessie Peter, her husband, Aaron, and 3-year-old Adria.

One of their neighbors works at the aquarium, and the couple immediately volunteered to help with an underwater-themed event at the Gulfport Casino.

"We're so lucky that we fell into it," Gloria Wilcox said of the aquarium event and its organizers. "They're fun, and they encourage creativity."

"They're always looking for new people," Jeff Wilcox said. "It's really an open vessel for people to share their talents."

And, that word again: fun.

Last year, for a pirate-themed party, Jeff Wilcox grew a beard.

This year, the 59-year-old said, he will have "the only AARP mohawk." He's going as Moondoggie. She will be Gidget. And all will be preserved for posterity at Muscle Beach Memories, for $2 a photo.

[Last modified October 28, 2006, 19:48:08]