My service dog organization had its annual gala last night. Tony Orlando came to open the show with "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" and we honored him and his advocacy of veterans issues by naming our newest puppy cadet "Orlando".

Also in attendance were John Lodge of the Moody Blues and Cliff Williams of AC/DC.

The event is called the Celebrity Martini Glass Auction - celebrities autograph martini glasses and then local artists decorate them and they are auctioned. The Moody Blues signed a glass this year and also donated an autographed copy of the Days of Future Passed Album along with 2 tickets to their upcoming Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. That raised $22K. Then in a completely unplanned moment, John Lodge and Cliff Williams got together and announced they would auction off a private jam session for 10 people. The bidding got up to around $25K and they agreed to do two parties, so that raised $50K for us!

We also hosted an after-party with a roster of very well known pastry chefs from around the country making the most amazing desserts and chocolates. One of them was Keegan Gerhardt - a former Food Network star. Also unplanned, he announced that the evening had so moved him because he had lost his father and step-father in Iraq. He asked the other chefs if they would join him in auctioning a private dinner and dessert party to be held in the winner's home. The chefs all agreed and bidding began at $20k. When it got to $60K, the chefs also agreed to sell two parties....raising $120k in a matter of minutes.

It was truly a very magical and special evening. All in all we hit the $1 Million mark for the first time ever! That is going to help us help a lot of veterans. The generosity of this community and their support for our veterans is simply amazing.

Here's Tony with Orlando:

Awesome! Way to go

Good cause, good people. Well done by all.

Jim

Truly Badass.

That's nice. I thought he had a mental breakdown from Freddy Prince's suicide and went into hiding.
Glad to see he's out now.

Wow, that's great. keep up the good work.

Cool level, epic!

My bike club, Green Knights Chapter 50, is involved with a charity called Dogs of War. They find shelter dogs that can be trained for veteran's service animals. Thank you for all that you do.

Puppy breath AND money raised for a good cause...it's a WIN WIN

Thank you for the post and pic

That's GREAT! Great job! Keep up the good work.

Great read to start the day!

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Puppy breath AND money raised for a good cause...it's a WIN WIN

Thank you for the post and pic

Ditto. Especially puppy breath.

And for the "celebs" who stood up.

Great to see others appreciate your efforts.

You are in the right spot to raise funds.

That's terrific. Good luck with future fund raising endeavors.