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Island-hoppers help fund research into blindnessBy Times staff writer © St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2000 Island Sighting on Saturday at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club was a glamorous launch for the local chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Founder and co-chairwoman Pat Campbell and the committee obviously put a lot of care and thought into the details. Patsy Dunlap handed out little binoculars as patrons arrived (useful for getting a good look at who's across the room). Instead of table numbers, we were assigned an island, which was appropriate as the two dozen or so tables in the ballroom looked like islands floating in a sea of sheer gauzy fabric. Jeannine Hascall, who masterminded the decorations, eschewed the obvious use of bright tropical colors and kitschy details that we usually see at events with island themes. Instead, she created an almost meditative landscape using the muted colors of the ocean after a storm. To achieve the effect, Mrs. Hascall bought hundreds of yards of sheer fabric ("cheap stuff, about a dollar a yard," she said) which she, party co-chairwoman Fay Baynard, Sunny Endicott, Anje Bogott, Elizabeth Vannoy and Suzanne MacDougald cut and stitched into table overlays and chair covers. Leaves and palm fronds in faded grays and greens were tied to chair backs. Large glass urns centered on the tables held bamboo shoots from which a single ginger bloom sprouted. At each place setting a conch shell held perfume samples. Beautiful and sophisticated. If the decorative scheme was subdued, the guests made up for it in their attire, with a riot of floral shirts and Lily Pulitzer-type shifts predominating. Mrs. Campbell and her husband, Gordon, and honorary chairs Dr. Jim and Heather Gills greeted the crowd, which included Frank and Vicki Fox; Cary Bond; Priscilla Young; Dr. Royce Hobby; John and Micki Breen; Dr. Joe Pilkington, back from a summer in North Carolina; and Celma Mastry, wearing a lovely embroidered silk chiffon stole over her orange silk dress; Bob and Jan Menke; Tim Bogott; Jim Hascall; Jim MacDougald; Dr. Jim Endicott; John Bowman; John Murphy and Edie Spies; Joe and Karen Richardson, who tucked a flower behind her ear; Ray and Jeri Smith (who organize their own tropical party each spring, an evening cruise and dinner, to benefit Bolesta Center for the hearing-impaired); Doug and Diane Linder; Del and Stephanie Goforth; Bud and Fran Risser; and Dr. Lawrence and Carole Merritt, who wins my vote for best outfit: pale blue silk top and pants, quilted jacket embroidered with little jewel-colored shapes that were picked up in the coordinating belt. It was a great look. Runner-up was Sunny, a sulphur-crested cockatoo with an elegant coat of white feathers, who worked the room on the arm of handler Bob Morrison, nibbling sunflower seeds while we munched on conch fritters. The silent auction, arranged by Norm and Judy Altenhoff and Luisa Perez Harvey, was full of vacation packages and luxury goods, including a small television set that broadcast a football game during pre-dinner cocktails. I have no idea which game, but it seemed to be popular, drawing a crowd around it. In town for the occasion was the Gordons' daughter, Dr. Melissa Campbell, who was the impetus for her parents' involvement in the foundation. Dr. Campbell was diagnosed with a degenerative retinal disease during her residency in orthopedic surgery. She changed her specialty to psychiatry and has sought aggressive treatments to slow her blindness. She also is on the national board for the foundation, which funds research. Dr. Campbell and her husband, Michael Harris, who live in Arizona, celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary that evening. Mrs. Baynard said the final tally is still being done, but she confirmed that the event raised at least $120,000. The money will go to the national foundation, where 82 cents of every dollar is for research programs. "We were very pleased," said Mrs. Campbell. She should be; few events in Pinellas County raise that kind of money, especially the first time. The parishioners of St. Peter's Cathedral have a fall dinner each year, and this year's Harvest Festival was moved from the parish hall to the Yacht Club to accommodate the larger crowd. Terry Cobb and her committee of Lela Garnett, Bonnie Johnson, sisters Martha Goodwill and Marnie Long, and Gaye Burnsed chose a harvest moon theme, using blue and white linens and silver accents, with crescent-shaped bottles of wine as centerpieces. Fox-13 News anchor and longtime member John Wilson rushed over between broadcasts Friday evening to serve as the auctioneer, aided by Blanton Garnett, who took over when Wilson had to get back to the studio. Entertaining the guests were Heather Smelts and Charles Plummer, members of the cathedral's youth choir and talented young pianists. As a past organizer of this event, I was always thrilled to make several thousand dollars, so this year's leaders should consider themselves most successful with a total profit of about $10,000. Sunday dinner usually conjures images of folksy, casserole-type meals, but not if it is organized by the International Wine and Food Society. The society has branches throughout the world, all dedicated to the idea that "a right understanding of good food and wine is an essential part of personal contentment and health, and an intelligent approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards than the mere satisfaction of appetite," according to its handbook. I'm usually in these things for mere satisfaction of appetite, but this meal was clearly on a higher plane. About 30 local members, including John and Dona Mulleney, Russ Buchan, Jack and Donna Painter, Dr. Bob and Elaine Hearne, Mike and Cathy Slicker, Mike and Joann Barger, and Ben and Carol Fisher met at Redwoods, which opened just for them, and dined on a four-course meal, prepared by chef Sean Currens, paired with wines selected by the society's local cellar master, Dr. John Hoche. During the pre-dinner champagne reception, Redwoods owner Emmanuel Roux said that the transition, after Joe Chouinard's role at the restaurant changed from chef to consultant, has been smooth. As far as the food is concerned anyway, I agree. Currens served wild mushrooms wrapped in wonton skins; Opakapaka, an exquisite, white-fleshed fish that reminded me of Chilean sea bass, only a little firmer and tastier; grilled pork tenderloin; and passion fruit cheesecake in a chocolate cookie crust. Wonderful. I was fortunate to be seated with Cameron Lusty and Bruce and Renate Berstein, who gave me a crash course in the wines we were served. Who knew chablis could taste so good?
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