Fund raising gala evolves over 28 years

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL A tray full of lobster at the 27th annual Celebration of Life Gala last year in Chesapeake Beach. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

It's not just a fundraiser.

It's become part of Calvert's history, like the place where the event is held each August, the Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa.

Like most fundraisers, the Cancer Crusade Gala held at the Rod 'N' Reel Restaurant began with an idea, a committee and the willingness to work hard to see the idea into fruition. The gala will see its 28th year this Thursday evening with a "throw down" of gourmet cuisine fit for a Washington, D.C., lobbyist's fundraiser, a variety of live music genres and a performance from a local dance troupe.

The event evolved from a small modest social event that raised $5,300 in 1982 to an elaborate affair with a menagerie of gourmet dishes and live music attracting thousands and raising more than $400,000 each of the past few years.

"I think Rod 'N' Reel [restaurant] tries to come up with something different every year. It's just astonishing," said Linda Hipsley, who was on the American Cancer Society (ACS) committee planning the event from day one.

"The Rod 'N' Reel definitely knows how to put on a party," she added.

"It takes a lot of people that help pull it together," said Mary Donovan, who has been a part of the planning and operations of all 27 prior galas, adding now there are many sponsors that contribute annually as well as volunteers who help out each year.

This year the event has a presenting sponsor, the Community Bank of Tri County, with the bank's president and his wife as honorary chairs, Mike and Sara Middleton.

Both former Chesapeake Beach Mayor Gerald Donovan and his brother Fred wanted to start a fundraiser for ACS because their father died of cancer and they connected with people to help organize the event. All the proceeds from the gala, which to this date have reached more than $3.8 million, go to ACS, Hipsley said. "He [Gerald Donovan] does not make one red cent on the gala, take my word for it," she said.

At this year's event, some seafood and Italian dishes new to the gala will be created by Rod 'N' Reel Restaurant's Italian Chef Antonello Marangi and his assistant Barbara Collinson, who worked together for years in Annapolis.

"He's doing a lot of sauces for our scampi and scallop table," said Mary Donovan. He also has several chefs from Annapolis volunteering to come help him, she said.

"The important thing for us is to raise money for the cancer society," she said.

In the early years the banquet spread consisted of the basics with roast beef and chicken dishes, but over the years, the cuisine has been up-scaled with exotic recipes, fresh shrimp, clams and lobster and a dessert room with so many choices that a diner's eyes would surely bulge larger than his stomach.

The committee used to plan themes for the gala, decorating the restaurant and dressing up for the theme. Hipsley recalled a roaring 1920s theme, like the old time Chesapeake Beach Resort in the heyday of the railroad. Not being able to recall the year, Hipsley did recall her costume being a bathing suit of the era with bloomers and a shirt with puffy sleeves.

"A lot of them were more modest than clothes today," she said of the swimsuits of the 1920s.

The committee ran out of theme ideas and spent so much time decorating, they decided to just go with formal attire instead.

"They come for the food, let's face it," Hipsley said committee members concluded.

The formal attire morphed into sundresses for most of the women and light pants or casual shorts with short-sleeved or Hawaiian shirts for men, and Hipsley expects the clothing just became more suitable for the August heat.

As the event grew, the committee recruited more and more volunteers helping set up, serving and taking down the buffets and disassembling tables and chairs the following day. The committee used to do all the work, Hipsley said, adding, "Now we have a lot of volunteers."

Many of the volunteers are past Rod ‘N' Reel Restaurant employees who come back each year to donate their time at the event. In 1998, as the event grew to more than a thousand attendees, the event linked up with the Calvert County Sheriff's Office and the Calvert County courts looking for more volunteers, Mary Donovan said. It was agreed that inmates on work release could help and the event could also be considered community service by the courts and for high school students' required service, she said.

"It's been such a help," Donovan said.

Cathy Gray, who has volunteered to organize the event for 26 years, said she would like to see more people from the southern end of the county come to the Cancer Crusade.

"Everybody needs to work together because it hits everybody," said Gray, who added that thankfully no one in her family has been diagnosed with cancer.

"We've been blessed," she said.

The event has also been blessed by Mother Nature as it has been hot, but never rained during the gala.

Last year the rain held off until 10 p.m., the scheduled end of the event.

"We've always had perfect weather," Hipsley said.

Between the gala and Relay for Life, "Calvert gives almost $1 million a year to the American Cancer Society," Hipsley said, adding, "which I think is phenomenal."

charvat@somdnews.com

Gala is Thursday

This year's gala will be held Aug. 6 from 7:30 to 10 p.m., with advanced purchased

tickets costing $125 and $150 on the day of the event.

Tickets may be purchased online at

www.rodnreelcancergala.org.