Members of the Exchange Club of Indian River Foundation hosted a chic affair last Saturday night at the Vero Beach Country Club with an inaugural Black and White Masquerade: Let’s Have a Ball event to support their mission of child abuse prevention.
Guests, dressed in elegant black and white formal wear and beautifully stylish masks, perused the various raffle and auction prizes on display in the front lobby before moving into a white fabric-draped dining room, where sparkling twinkle lights added a splash of sophistication.
“The fundraising committee was batting around how we could replace the Blue Water Open, which we had done for almost three and a half decades,” said Exchange Club President Christopher Pensch. “Last year we dropped the fishing tournament since we worked on the Vero Beach Air Show, which brought in $100,000 for the four Indian River Exchange Clubs, but we needed something to replace the Open.”
They brainstormed with event chair Jessica Hawkins and worked tirelessly with her committee, Jaime Clekamp, Nancy Gollnick, Jennifer Frederick, Barbara Parent, Marllyn Justice and Sue Dempsey, to pull it all together.
Guests dined on a dinner of steak and shrimp scampi before cutting into the stunning dessert – a black and white cake decorated by Pensch’s sister-in-law Ellen Langfitt. After dinner, auctioneer and County Commissioner Wesley Davis whipped up the crowd with an entertaining charity auction; eliciting some especially competitive bidding for a coveted black pearl and diamond ring donated by jeweler John Michael Matthews. Revelers finished the evening dancing to the energetic music of DJ Fuzzy, aka Joe Pasco.
“When I first started with the Exchange Club I really didn’t know what their mission was but when I heard they were about the prevention of child abuse it just really hit my heart,” said Gollnick. “So it’s nice to be able to raise funds for groups like Youth Guidance, Hibiscus House and all the others to prevent child abuse before it starts.”
Gollnick said the success of the fishing tournament had been dependent on the weather each year so the club wanted something that could be held indoors. The club was pleased with the success of the event, which had people calling for tickets even after they had sold out all 130 seats.
“I looked around and thought here we are in air conditioned comfort, eating incredibly good food, with all these wonderful items for bid, where we could have been handling smelly fish. I think we made a good choice,” said Pensch with a laugh.
The Exchange Club of Indian River, established 42 years ago, provides grants to local organizations that work to protect children. Funds help provide parental training, counseling, sharing the need for adoptive and foster homes, and other projects to help prevent child abuse before it happens.
“I think the need has always been there, but I think these agencies are doing a better job of addressing and recognizing the issues of children and child abuse,” said Pensch. “When they come to us, they talk about the fact that the government no longer has the funds to give them, so they come to us.”
