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Amy Scherzer's diary

Fifth annual DeBartolo All Star Charity Gala

By AMY SCHERZER
Published March 2, 2007

"Everyone in this room loves Mr. D. or they wouldn't be here," hooted baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, seizing the moment and the microphone at the ultimate huddle, the DeBartolo Family Foundation All Star Charity Gala.

"Get off your damn wallet," Boggs hollered to 680 guests and 50 celebs dining with them Feb. 23. So many San Francisco 49ers came to the fifth gala it felt like an ESPN rerun. Two new faces: Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee and ice dancer Naomi Lang.

Amply fueled by admiration for Eddie DeBartolo and a few drinks, Boggs hawked a Fourth of July trip to the billionaire's Montana ranch, where Lionel Ritchie will be entertaining. Stuck at $40,000, the offer was doubled and Boggs shouted an $80,000 hallelujah to bidders Alan Payne and DeBartolo Sports and Entertainment agent Ralph Cindrich, who was already invited.

Auctioneers Gary Plummer, the former San Francisco 49er linebacker, and former Tampa Bay Buc Brad Culpepper were tickled to get $25,000 from Bobby and Linda Gross for Super Bowl XLII tickets, hotel and first class airfare.

Lisa DeBartolo, in a silky silver Christian Dior sheath, introduced six women from the Family Enrichment Center, "so you can actually hear from people we help." Their moving testimonials should get the event net total near $500,000.

Soap opera star and rocker Rick Springfield thrilled the fans. Also a standout: the A La Carte Pavilion ballroom, decorated by ConceptBAIT with 15,000 red roses, 1,000 candles, 75,000 hanging crystals and a red vinyl dance floor.

Capt. Preston Farrior and his brother, Rex Farrior III, crowned Hal Mullis Jr. and Rosemary Williams the 94^th royals of Ye Mystic Krewe as they co-emceed Saturday's coronation at the Tampa Convention Center. Rex threatened to "tell Mom" if Preston didn't get abdicating King Mike Annis off the throne. He obliged after "silver and gold" arrived in the form of two showgirls in silver and yellow feathered headdresses. Annis will be remembered as the king who took his entire court to Napa Valley.

Williams, 22, is learning her family business, J.H. Williams Oil Co. Mullis, 63, president of the Trenam Kemker law firm, "is well suited to piracy," Preston said.

With their "boogie shoes" on, pirates and mates rose to Get Down Tonight with K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Admitting to age 56, K.C. joked: "This is what Justin Timberlake will look like in 30 years."

Actor Jon Voight planned to emcee the Florida Holocaust Museum's dinner Saturday and then catch a red-eye flight to Los Angeles to attend the Oscars. Organizers refused his generous offer and packed the A La Carte Pavilion with tributes to heroes, including Paul Ruesabagina, son of a Hutu father and a Tutsi mother.

"With words, you can save lives. With words, you can kill," said the former hotel manager who sheltered and saved nearly 1,260 people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide as nearly a million others were massacred.

The 900 guests also met Cambodian Sophal Stagg; Kerry Reardon, who rescued Amar Jakupovic when his family's SUV flew off the Howard Frankland Bridge; and Sam Schryver, who escaped from the Westerbork concentration camp on April 12, 1945. He was captured by Canadians but persuaded them to go back to the camp with him and rescue 1,000 Jewish inmates.

Two more heroes: Jason Thomas saved Port Authority police officers trapped under 20 feet of debris on Sept. 11, and Army Maj. David Rozelle was the first troop commander to deploy, as an amputee, to the same battlefield.

Heroic thoughts come easier than actions, USF president Judy Genshaft said upon receiving the Loebenberg Award. The Outdoor Arts Foundation set up the silent auction of artwork inspired by the White Rose, a group of German students executed in 1943 for opposing Nazism. Art sales helped the event net more $250,000.

Events

Saturday: Sixth annual Cigar City Celebration, benefits Achieve Tampa Bay; 7 p.m.; Cuban Club, $125; 239-1179, ext. 222.

March 9: LampLighters Luncheon of Light and fashion show presented by Saks Fifth Avenue; 11 a.m.; Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay; $75, to benefit Joshua House and Metropolitan Ministries; 250-3737.

March 9: Chiselers' Market Preview Party and Auction; 7-9 p.m.; Plant Hall at University of Tampa; $50; 253-0037.

March 10: 59th annual Fashionollia luncheon and fashion show hosted by Tampa Woman's Club; 11 a.m.; Renaissance Hotel International Plaza; benefits Making Dreams Come True scholarships for children who have survived cancer; $50; 839-7457.

[Last modified March 1, 2007, 07:31:50]