Neither rain nor hail nor lightning strikes could deter roughly 240 women from attending the 18th annual Blue Ribbon Luncheon and Fashion Show at the Oak Harbor Club to benefit Hibiscus Children’s Center. Last Thursday’s early thunderstorm left guests a little damp and slightly delayed, but the stylish group took it all in stride, swapping umbrellas for champagne and mimosas to peruse a roomful of silent-auction items.
Event co-chairs Sue Sharpe and Diane Wilhelm and other committee members enlisted the support of their husbands, Ed Cortez, Richard Duch, Tom Murphy, George Sharpe, Ed Smith and Larry Wilhelm, all looking dapper in Vernon Scott Resort Wear.
This year’s Step into Style theme was highlighted by a brilliant stiletto ice sculpture and colorful floral centerpieces in blue pumps atop decorative shoeboxes. As guests began lunch, Master of Ceremonies Mary Beth McDonald spoke about Hibiscus Children’s Center, which assists children removed from their homes by the state due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.
“Everything we do at Hibiscus would not be possible without the tremendous support and generosity that we receive from the community and all of our guild members,” said Caroline Beale, Hibiscus director of operations.
She said last year 78 teenagers walked through the doors of Hibiscus Children’s Village in Vero Beach, which houses 13- through 17-year-olds. While there, 33 celebrated their birthdays, 42 spent the holidays with them, two got their GEDs and two graduated from high school. Even better, three teenagers were adopted in December.
Guest speaker Aimee McPartlan, executive director of the Executive Roundtable of Indian River County and a part-time social worker with the school district, worked for many years in the child welfare system and used that knowledge to author “Don’t You Cry” and later “Don’t You Tell.” Her books give emotional accounts of what children experience and what happens with abuse cases behind the scenes.
McPartlan shared that she had been adopted into a wonderful family as a baby and was given an opportunity to think about what her life would have been like had it not been for intervention by DCF.
She read a passage from her book about a 10-year-old boy telling his story to a roomful of professionals about the night he was taken away from his home by DCF, relating the terror of being “kidnapped” by uniformed strangers.
“Just like that, your life as you know it has changed,” McPartlan quoted him as saying. “I chose this selection because the children at Hibiscus have been through this type of trauma; many of them have been through much, much worse. Hibiscus is tasked with picking up those pieces and putting them back together.”
This year’s Fashion Show, produced by Sobol Fashion Productions, featured statuesque models showing off the latest designs from Pineapples, Cashmere Beach, J. McLaughlin, Sara Campbell, Sassy Boutique, Frances Brewster and Cooper & Co., featuring an array of colorful, very Vero resort wear, casual outfits creatively transformed into evening wear with scarves and shawls, sophisticated jacketed dresses and one spectacular golden gown with an embellished mermaid skirt.
