2011 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest Nets Record $1.6 million
Fort Myers, FL, March 04, 2011 --(PR.com)-- This year’s Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest, held on February 25 and 26 at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club, raised a record-breaking $1.6 million (net, after expenses), which will be donated directly to three charities benefiting children’s health care in our area. The auction day started off with $235,000 in the kiddy from nine Chef Vintner dinners held the evening before in host homes from Naples, Miromar Lakes, and Bonita Springs to Fort Myers.
Surprises and special touches to this year’s event included the addition of the NFL Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders to dance and ignite the auction goers, a special appearance by Charities’ Angels, the celebrity of AC/DC bass player Cliff Williams and a Hugh Hefner look-a-like. “The Hef” helped to boost the Playboy Mansion Party lot to the next level as two parties at the Playboy Mansion auctioned for $100,000 each.
Professional Auctioneer Scott Robertson, Voiceover Artist Chris Corley, and NBC-2’s Kellie Burns guided several hundred attendees through Saturday's bidding and festivities at the Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club. Along with the auction, local chefs joined more than a dozen wineries and distributors in the event's Grand Tasting of wine and food.
The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida will receive the majority of the proceeds from this year’s event as the primary beneficiary, including $233,400 from more than 60 bidders given during the auction to specifically “fund the cause” of purchasing five giraffe beds, also known as incubators that are the state of the art care for prematurely born infants. Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison State College will also benefit from the auction action.
"We played off the success of last year’s event, which netted $932,000 net," said Steve Machiz, M.D., Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest founding chairman. "The trustees, dinner hosts, wineries, chefs and donors really stepped up this year to take this event truly over the top.”
Northern Trust was the title sponsor of the 2011 Wine & Food Fest. Along with Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club, other supporters of the event included Norman Love Confections, Angelina’s Ristorante, and Palm Printing - Strategic Solutions. Media sponsors were the News-Press, Grandeur Magazine, Gulfshore Life, and Gulfshore Business.
The Wine & Food Fest Grand Tasting and Auction was held in the award-winning Beach Clubhouse at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club and its outdoor waterfront venue. Miromar Lakes was recently selected at the Best Community in the United States by the National Association of Home Builders, and as Best Clubhouse last year by the same prestigious organization.
The Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest is a signature event of the SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides funding to local charities serving local children. For more information and more photos of the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest visit www.swflwinefest.org or call 239-278-3900.
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Surprises and special touches to this year’s event included the addition of the NFL Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders to dance and ignite the auction goers, a special appearance by Charities’ Angels, the celebrity of AC/DC bass player Cliff Williams and a Hugh Hefner look-a-like. “The Hef” helped to boost the Playboy Mansion Party lot to the next level as two parties at the Playboy Mansion auctioned for $100,000 each.
Professional Auctioneer Scott Robertson, Voiceover Artist Chris Corley, and NBC-2’s Kellie Burns guided several hundred attendees through Saturday's bidding and festivities at the Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club. Along with the auction, local chefs joined more than a dozen wineries and distributors in the event's Grand Tasting of wine and food.
The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida will receive the majority of the proceeds from this year’s event as the primary beneficiary, including $233,400 from more than 60 bidders given during the auction to specifically “fund the cause” of purchasing five giraffe beds, also known as incubators that are the state of the art care for prematurely born infants. Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison State College will also benefit from the auction action.
"We played off the success of last year’s event, which netted $932,000 net," said Steve Machiz, M.D., Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest founding chairman. "The trustees, dinner hosts, wineries, chefs and donors really stepped up this year to take this event truly over the top.”
Northern Trust was the title sponsor of the 2011 Wine & Food Fest. Along with Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club, other supporters of the event included Norman Love Confections, Angelina’s Ristorante, and Palm Printing - Strategic Solutions. Media sponsors were the News-Press, Grandeur Magazine, Gulfshore Life, and Gulfshore Business.
The Wine & Food Fest Grand Tasting and Auction was held in the award-winning Beach Clubhouse at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club and its outdoor waterfront venue. Miromar Lakes was recently selected at the Best Community in the United States by the National Association of Home Builders, and as Best Clubhouse last year by the same prestigious organization.
The Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest is a signature event of the SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides funding to local charities serving local children. For more information and more photos of the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest visit www.swflwinefest.org or call 239-278-3900.
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Contact
Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest
Carolyn Rogers
239-278-3900
www.swflwinefest.org
Carolyn Rogers
239-278-3900
www.swflwinefest.org
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