Annual Gala

Our 22nd annual Gala will take place on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at the Coral Gables Country Club.  Back by popular demand, this year’s theme will once again be casino-style gambling.  Save the date! We hope to see you there.

Every year since our inception the Foundation has held an annual gala—maybe you have volunteered for, or attended one, or more. We seem to be best remembered for our “Greening of the Gables” Galas and initiative (which was established to raise funds to help the City replace the devastated tree canopy caused by the back-to-back Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma). With the exception of that difficult year (2005), the gala has been the Foundation’s greatest fund raising event.

Our most recent 20th Anniversary (1991-2011) “Homecoming” Gala, we were grateful to have so many of our friends, former board members, and past chairs attend as we recognized and celebrated their generous contributions and enthusiastic participation in giving back to our community. Those 20 years have included lending a helping hand to establish major initiatives such as GranTran, PARKnership, the Coral Gables Museum, Cinemateque’s Coral Gables Art Cinema, GablesHomePage.com, the Save The Alhambra Water Tower Campaign, and the Waterway Renaissance Project.

Our 21st annual Gala, a casino-themed “Club Monaco” was held on Saturday, October 13th, 2012 in the elegant and stately Coral Grand Ballroom of the Coral Gables Country Club.  This elegant evening began with a Bacardi cocktail hour and live Sinatra-era music by singer Tony Fernandez, followed by dinner and dancing to a DJ, and gambling featuring casino-style gaming tables*. The evening also included our annual awards, and a silent auction.  (*The gaming equipment was provided for entertainment purposes only by CASINO PARTY NIGHTS FLORIDA, Inc.)

Read the full story “Foundation gala brings ‘Club Monaco’ to Coral Gables” and see the photo gallery at GablesHomePage.com.

2012 HONOREES

LEGACY AWARD  Robert J. Fewell
COMMUNITY AWARD Wayne E. “Chip” Withers
CULTURE AWARD  Steven H. Krams
EDUCATION AWARD Dr. Joyce Elam
SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT AWARD posthumously honoring Paul T. Dee, J.D.
(the award was accepted by Cathy Zuckerman Dee)

photos from past events

(L-R, top to bottom)

• Greening of the Gables Gala 2007 EWM Table
  Greening of the Gables Gala 2008 (both at Biltmore Hotel)

• 2009 Masquerade Ball
  2010 J’adore Paris Gala (both at Comber Hall)

• Don and Ceci Slesnick at 2010 J’adore Paris Gala After Party
  Senior Superlative winners Board Member Commissioner Frank Quesada as
  “Best Dressed” andBoard Member Matthew Meehan as “Class Clown”  at our
  20th Anniversary “Homecoming” Gala (at Coral Gables County Club)