VERO BEACH — For the last 35 years, the unofficial start of summer has been marked by locals with the annual Tropical Night Luau to benefit the Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program. Snowbirds might have flown north, but Saturday night hundreds of stalwart Veroites migrated to the tropically elegant Quail Valley River Club for an evening of casual island fun.
Guests arrived sporting vibrantly colored, beach-y garb with a preponderance of bright Hawaiian shirts and sundresses, all complimented by the festive floral leis given out at the door. Members of the Exchange Club of Sebastian took the luau theme to heart with the addition of grass skirts and even, on the part of club chairman Michael Natale, a scallop-shell bra.
“My eyes are up here,” scolded Natale with a mischievous grin. “We’ve always bought a table, but this was the first time we’ve been able to come in a while. We missed the Luau the last couple of years because it was always the same weekend as our fishing tournament,” he said, referencing their annual Blue Water Open Fishing Tournament, scheduled for June 9 this year. Youth Guidance will again be a beneficiary of the tournament.
Dyer Auto and the Sebastian Exchange Club were the event’s top sponsors, leading the way to what Youth Guidance executive director Barbara Schlitt Ford said was nearly $30,000 in sponsorships.
The goal for the night was to raise $60,000 to send 200 at-risk Indian River County children to local summer camps. The summer months can be a daunting time for financially unstable families and camps help provide a healthy, safe, and enriching alternative to being home unsupervised.
“We’re lucky with the weather,” said Schlitt Ford as guests continued to arrive. “It’s going really well; we’ve sold a lot at the door. If it had rained, we wouldn’t have been able to sell any more tickets. It’s a great turnout.”
The evening’s relaxed, tropical feel was enhanced inside and out with Quail Valley’s lovely island décor, warm breezes off the river and the always spectacular Florida sunset. Many took advantage of the expanded outdoor riverfront tiki bar area, which was further enriched by the sounds of Calypso steel drums.
While taking advantage of the gorgeous riverfront view, Spence and Shereatha Spencer, spoke about their roles as volunteer mentors. He is active with the Youth Sailing Foundation, one of several specialty mentoring programs partnered with Youth Guidance, and is currently teaching one child to sail and another to build his own boat.
She is mentor to a 13-year-old girl and said, “We play putt-putt golf, we bake cakes together, and today we went to the Humane Society; she loves animals. It’s just important to spend time with them, talk about the future and encourage them.”
Quail Valley chefs once again worked their magic, continually replenishing a buffet assortment of delicious island fare. As the noise level cranked up, shoes were kicked off and people took to the dance floor, rocking all night to the music of the band Brass Evolution.
Tables offering 90 donated silent auction items, ranging from services, restaurants and recreation packages, to art, jewelry and retail items, filled the club’s lobby. Later in the evening, County Commissioner Wesley Davis presided over the live auction which included sports, trips and get-aways, and even a gourmet dinner in a Florida Cracker-style farmhouse.
Youth Guidance serves over 700 at-risk youth from low-income, single-parent households throughout the entire year, offering one-on-one mentoring, monthly activities for un-matched children, college scholarships, school clothing assistance and holiday celebrations.
