January, 2013 – Bull McCabe’s “Hot Rod” After Polo Party
December, 2013 – Community Giants” Founders Award from Inner City Youth Golfers, Inc.
John Wash Receives the “Community Giants” Founders Award from Inner City Youth Golfers, Inc.
December 13, 2013 – John Wash, president of the International Polo Club and The Wanderers Club Wellington, received the Founders Award at the Inner City Youth Golfers (ICYG) Recognition Dinner on December 7, 2013.
The ICYG Community Giants Recognition Dinner, Auction & Dance celebration, hosted at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, included an impressive lineup of community leaders. The awards are granted annually to community leaders, organizations, and sporting venues that generously give of their time and resources to further the mission of ICYG. The Community Giants awards recognize leaders in four categories: Management, Community Service, Leadership, and Founders.
Mr. Wash was privileged to be one of the esteemed recipients recognized by ICYG founder, Malachi Knowles, for the prestigious Founders Award. Esmeralda H. Knowles, executive director of the organization, said, “We are pleased to honor IPC’s outstanding service to our community by introducing our schoolchildren to polo; and for spearheading economic development by providing jobs for our families.”
In addition, Knowles stated, “We are inspired by IPC’s continuous work through the Polo Training Foundation, and their overall commitment to the sport of polo and the South Florida equestrian community. For these reasons, this year’s highest honor is awarded to the International Polo Club.”
Since 2002, the International Polo Club Palm Beach has hosted a day of polo for as many as 1,400 fourth-grade students from area schools. This equates to more than 14,000 local students being introduced to the sport in the last decade. Teams of boys and girls were trained by the world’s greatest professional polo players to wield mallets on mounted polo ponies and charge down the field. Students cheered on their schoolmates during the exhibition match, then joined them on the field to participate in the divot stomp, and afterward, were treated to lunch.
John Wash accepted the award along with the IPC executive team. “It is an honor to receive the Founders Award from ICYG,” he said. “We really enjoy teaching children about polo, and the smiles on their faces are priceless.”
The 2013 award winners included John Wash, International Polo Club; George W. Linley, Palm Beach County Sports Commission; Clarence D. Williams III, Riviera Beach Police Chief; Tony T. Brown, Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency; Marcia J. Andrews, Palm Beach County School Board; Iris Jones, BB&T Bank; Joanna Aiken, Rebuilding Together of the Palm Beaches; and Lt. Beverly J. Elliott-Morrison, retired, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department. Also honored were Carol A. Roberts, Chair, Palm Beach County Health Care District; Attorney F. Martin Perry, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Palm Beaches; and Herman McCray (deceased).
About Inner City Youth Golfers, Inc. ICYG was incorporated in the state of Florida in 2000 as a 501(c) (3) organization, with a vision toward enhancing the lives of children and families in the inner cities of Palm Beach County. ICYG is an academic excellence and golf program that uses the excitement, etiquette, rules, behavior, dress, and speech associated with the sport to help inner city children focus on the positive, mold them into good citizens, and make them future role models. Teachers, law enforcement, and amateur and professional golfers provide golf instruction utilizing the rules and code of conduct of the PGA, LPGA, and the USGA.
About International Polo Club Palm Beach International Polo Club Palm Beach is located in Wellington, Fla., in the heart of South Florida’s famed horse country. Founded in 2002, IPC is host to major tournaments and world-class events throughout the year, including the highest goal polo played in the United States from January through April.
Media Contact Enid Atwater, Venue Marketing Group 561-844-1778, ext. 21 enida@venueadv.com
December, 2013 – NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY LUNCHEON
LOCAL PHILANTHROPISTS HONORED AT NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY LUNCHEON
28TH Annual Event Recognizes Recipients in Five Categories for Commitment to Community
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla) The annual Association of Fundraising Professionals’ National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon is like the Academy Awards for nonprofit organizations. The 28th annual event was no exception, as the Palm Beach County chapter joined AFP chapters throughout the country and across the world to celebrate the spirit of philanthropy. Held recently in the Cohen Pavilion at the Kravis Center this year’s event honored outstanding recipients in four categories for their philanthropic commitment. . A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented at the event.
“What makes philanthropy unique is that no one is actually required to give of themselves,” said Diane Bergner, AFP Member and Chair of the awards luncheon, as she welcomed guests from the podium. “There are no laws; there are no mandates that force us to donate or get involved. Philanthropy is so powerful and inspiring precisely because it is done on a completely voluntary basis. Through the goodness of our giving hearts, through our need to connect, through our desire to see a better world, philanthropists give unconditionally and are making a big difference. “
More than 300 guests gathered for the luncheon to recognize individuals, foundations and corporations which are changing the world through their gifts. AFP Palm Beach County Chapter President, Amy Brand joined Bergner onstage to present awards to the following: Barbara and Jerome Golden, Outstanding Philanthropists; Anne Keresey, Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser; the Walter and Adi Blum Foundation, Outstanding Philanthropic Private Foundation; and Seacrest Services, Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation. Helen K. Persson was honored posthumously with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jerome and Barbara Golden’s contributions to the community, with gifts totaling more than $3 million, have made an extraordinary impact on Palm Beach County. The Goldens’ generous support and outstanding leadership at the Kravis Center and the Jerome Center for Behavioral Health span decades and millions in funding. Their most recent commitments in 2013 assisted both the Kravis Center with providing the community with an extensive arts education and outreach program and helped opened the doors to the Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health. Mr. and Dr. Golden accepted the award for Outstanding Philanthropists.
For more than 25 years, Palm Beach resident Anne Keresey has volunteered her time on the boards of Hanley Center and the Hanley Center Foundation. She co-chaired two of the nonprofit residential addiction treatment center’s largest capital campaigns – overseeing more than $16 million in total funds raised. As a legacy toward Mrs. Keresey’s prevention efforts, Hanley Center recently announced the Anne Keresey Endowment for Youth Treatment and Programming. Patty Myura, last year’s recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award presented this year’s award to Mrs. Keresey.
Established in 1987, the Walter and Adi Blum Foundation has achieved a standard of unique and innovating grant making that has had a sizable impact on the disadvantaged and underserved, donating more than $9 million to support such causes. Norman Shaw accepted the AFP award for Outstanding Philanthropic Private Foundation.
A full-service property management company, Seacrest Services believes strongly in giving back to the community it serves. Each year, the family-oriented company volunteers and supports the efforts of nonprofit organizations and individuals, to help those in need flourish. From renovating school field and garden areas to helping families in a bind, Seacrest Services employees do what it takes to make South Florida a great place to live. Matthew Barnes, representing Toshiba Business Solutions who was last year’s recipient of the Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation category presented the award to Anjanette Hanna who accepted it onbehalf of Seacrest Services.
Helen K. Persson was a true champion of the arts and humanity. She served on the Kravis Center’s Board of Directors for 15 years and was then elected a Life Trustee. The Persson Rehearsal Hall and the Helen K. Persson Society are both named in her honor. For more than 20 years, she was a steadfast supporter of Palm Beach Opera and was also dedicated to advancing the healthcare profession. Her niece, Daria Stowell, accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in Mrs. Persson’s honor.
“Today’s honorees join a prestigious group that has supported our community for decades,” concluded Brand. “In these challenging times, it is inspirational to know the depth of caring offered by community-minded individuals. It is they who help us realize their actions are making a difference today and for future generations.”
Sponsors for the 2013 National Philanthropy Day event included VIP Reception Sponsor, Patty Myura/ The Eleanor Patterson Reeves Foundation; Media Sponsor, the South Florida Business Journal; Program Sponsor, Toshiba Business Solutions; Invitation Sponsor, Palm Beach State College; and Foundation and Underwriting Sponsors Bethesda Hospital Foundation, Gulfstream Goodwill Inc., Kravis Center, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Scripps Florida and South Florida Fair.
AFP represents more than 30,000 members in more than 200 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs. The association fosters development and growth of fundraising professionals and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession. Locally, proceeds from the National Philanthropy Day luncheon will support scholarships for membership and attendance at conferences and international trainings.
For information about the next National Philanthropy Day or membership information for AFP, please contact Amy Brand at 561-737-7733 or visit www.afppbc.org.
PHOTO CREDIT: Corby Kaye’s Studio Palm Beach
1 Diane Bergner, Jay Cashmere, Amy Brand
2 Kristin McCabe, Barbara Golden, Jerry Golden
December, 2013 – ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER WILL TAKE CENTER STAGE AT 2014 KRAVIS CENTER GALA
“America’s Cultural Ambassadors” will perform dramatic performance for the first time in 15 years
WEST PALM BEACH, FL —The world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will gracefully take the stage for a spectacular performance when the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts holds its annual Gala, on Monday, February 24, 2014.
Chaired by Monika Preston, the black-tie affair will begin with a reception in the Shapiro Founders’ Room at the Kravis Center, followed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance in Dreyfoos Hall and a dinner dance in the Gimelstob Ballroom located in the Cohen Pavilion. Kathryn C. Vecellio is honorary chair, with Kim Havlicek serving as vice chair and Cameron Preston, Angela Vecellio and Tara Vecellio serving as junior co-chairs.
Hailed as America’s “cultural ambassadors to the world,” the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is known for its dramatic performances, ranging from the pulse-racing thrill of contemporary favorites to the spirit-lifting joy of beloved classics. Closing the program will be Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations, called “one of the great works of the human spirit” by The New York Times.
“The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will mesmerize guests attending the Kravis Center Gala. These incredible modern dancers soar through the air, exhibiting incredible skill and technique,” notes Ms. Preston. “What began in Harlem in 1958, has grown into a troupe of young dancers who have forever changed the perception of American dance. Though they have not performed in Palm Beach for over 15 years, The Ailey company has danced before an estimated 23 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents. They are an American treasure, and we are delighted they will take center stage at the 2014 Kravis Center Gala.”
Gala sponsors include Martin Axman, The Breakers, Stephen Brown and Jamie Stern, Alec and Miriam Flamm, Diane and Bruce Halle, Henni and John Kessler, Dorothy and Sidney Kohl, Ingrid and David Kosowsky, Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller Fund, Jane M. Mitchell, Neiman Marcus, Helen K. Persson, Monika and John Preston, Sabadell Bank & Trust, SBA Communications Corporation, Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, Kathryn and Leo Vecellio; Tiffany & Co. for special support, and Classical South Florida and Palm Beach Illustrated for media support.
“The Kravis Gala is a fun event, with a young group of supporters,” Ms. Preston said. “Everyone is invited to join us at this year’s gala, which is predicted to be one of the most enjoyable of the season. Our supporters recognize the importance of raising funds to promote the arts as an experience for everyone in Palm Beach County.”
Tickets for this year’s Gala are $750 for the Gala Patron, and $375 for the Young Gala Patron (45 years old and younger).
The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.kravis.org or call (561) 651-4320.
Photo credit: Lucien Capehart Photography
December, 2013 – Winter Wonderland Holiday Show Returns to Wellington
Winter Wonderland Holiday Show Returns to Wellington
Wellington is transforming into a Winter Wonderland! On December 13th and 14th, starting at 7:30 pm, the Wellington Amphitheater will be the setting for an unforgettable holiday show. This free event, perfect for the whole family, will feature professional performers, singers, dancers, and favorite holiday characters.
Winter Wonderland will feature performances by the Wellington Ballet Theatre, the Wellington High School Choir, and 2013 “Wellington Idol” winner Lexi Luca. Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus will also be appearing. All performances will follow a holiday-themed narrative and be accompanied by classic holiday music.
The Wellington Amphitheater is located at 12100 Forest Hill Boulevard. Attendees should bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating.
For a complete schedule of Amphitheater events, visit www.wellingtonfl.gov and select the Amphitheater Schedule page under the News tab.
For information about other Wellington programs, events, activities, and updates, please visitwww.wellingtonfl.gov or watch Channel 18 for the latest happenings.
December, 2013 – AW in Pictures
Just a few highlights of happenings Around Wellington. For many more photos, visit the link “Photo Galleries” on this site! For recent videos, click on our “Videos” link.
December, 2013 – Hometown Holiday Food Drive Provides Meals to Over 115 Families
Hometown Holiday Food Drive Provides Meals to Over 115 Families
This year, with generous donations provided by the community, the Hometown Holiday Food Drive was able to provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal to 117 local families. Wellington would like to thank not only our residents, but also our partners that made this food drive a resounding success:
- Wellington Faith Based Organizations
- Keller Williams Realty
- Palm Beach County Fire Rescue
- Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
- Ultima Fitness
- Walgreens
- Whole Foods and
- Jet Hauling
Thank you for all that you do to support the struggling families in our community each and every year; these events would not be successful without your help! In addition, we would like to extend a special thanks to the community members who volunteered during the sorting and distribution process.
With Thanksgiving behind us, the holiday season is upon us and Wellington would like to remind you that the Hometown Holiday Toy Drive is now under way. Please consider donating a new unwrapped toy at any Village location; together we can ensure a gift for every child.
For information about other Wellington programs, events, activities, and updates, please visitwww.wellingtonfl.gov or watch Channel 18 for the latest happenings.
December, 2013 – Holiday Toy Drive Ensures a Gift for Every Child
Wellington’s 5th Annual Hometown Holiday Toy Drive Ensures a Gift for Every Child
Wellington wants to ensure that the children in our community are provided for this year. That’s why your great hometown is partnering with Ultima Fitness, Jet Hauling Inc., The Mall at Wellington Green, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Wellington’s Interfaith Group, Walgreens, Van Dell Jewelry, Kontiki, Sam Jon’s Salon, TCBY, Tijuana Flats, and Lindburgers for its 5th Annual Hometown Holiday Toy Drive.
“Every child in our community should have the opportunity to receive a gift this holiday season,” said Mayor Bob Margolis. “The holidays are all about giving and this is a great way for our residents to share in that sentiment.”
Community members are encouraged to drop off new, unwrapped toys by December 16th to any of the following locations:
| Wellington Community Center
12165 West Forest Hill Boulevard |
Safe Neighborhoods Office
1100 Wellington Trace |
| Village Hall
12300 Forest Hill Boulevard |
Van Dell Jewelry
13860 Wellington Trace, Unit #20 |
| Village Park
11700 Pierson Road |
PBSO District 8
14000 Greenbriar Blvd. |
Monetary donations are also accepted and are tax deductible; please contact Scott Campbell, Community Projects Manager, at (561)791-4105 for more information.
Residents looking for assistance can contact Wellington’s Community Services department at (561)791-4796 or their local house of worship.
For information on other Wellington programs, events, activities, and updates, please visit the website atwww.wellingtonfl.gov or watch Channel 18 for the latest happenings.