2023
MAMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN!
The Great Mates are off to another record-breaking gala, taking guests at the BYC to Santorini & the Greek Islands on March 4, 2023, at 5:30 with a welcome drink, appetizers, and a four-course meal with a cash bar! Individuals and sponsors are invited to come feast like Zeus, win a costume contest (optional) as gods & goddesses, the cast of Mama Mia, or traditional Greek folk dress, bid on silent & live auctions to music by Abba, and enjoy the humor of our celebrity auctioneer, Bob Harrigan, of Channel 7 Meteorology fame. The Great Mates have been raising money all year for Children’s Guardian Fund (the fund Guardian ad Litem volunteers use exclusively and freely to help foster children they advocate for) and Scholarships for Manatee graduates through raffle tickets, gala attendance, and in-kind and cash donations.
Dress is business casual. BYC members reserve directly with the club with choice of entree and names of guests, non-members by calling the club with entree choice and guest names but mailing a check for $100 per guest to The Great Mates, Inc. P.O. Box 463, Palmetto, FL 34220 to guarantee a seat. Questions or donations, please email Gail Henderson, Gala Chair at gailforceiii@aol.com. Thanks so much for helping us change lives in Manatee County! Please book early to avoid missing out on what promises again to be a great evening!
2022
LORDS AND LADIES, PATRIOTS, PIRATES AND EVERYDAY-DRESSED HEROES CRUISED TO NEW ENGLAND FOR THE 2022 GREAT MATES GALA ON MARCH 5TH TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHILDREN’S GUARDIAN FUND AND MANATEE GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS. WHAT A NIGHT IT WAS!
WHILE ATTENDEES DINED ON “BEST OF NEW ENGLAND” FOODS INCLUDING MAINE LOBSTERS, GREAT MATES TOOK US BACK TO 1775-76 WITH A LOOK AT ORIGINAL PATRIOT’S LETTERS RECENTLY COLLECTED BY WAYNE RICKERT, AND A CLEVER SKIT REVOLVING AROUND LONGFELLOW’S POEM, “PAUL REVERE’S RIDE.” BOB HARRIGAN, CH. 7’S CHIEF METEOROLOGIST, SHARED THE HUMOROUS FORECAST FOR HIS RIDE WITH CINDY RHATEGAN (REVERE’S WIFE) AND BILL WHEELER AS CH. 7’S BREAKING NEWS REPORTER/ AKA LONGFELLOW QUOTED EXCERPTS FROM THE POEM ITSELF. THEN TOM GRUBB (REVERE) HELD US ABSOLUTELY SPELL-BOUND WITH HIS HUMOROUS HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THAT FATEFUL NIGHT.
THANKS TO BOB HARRIGAN, OUR INCREDIBLE AUCTIONEER, WHO REGALED US WITH HIS HUMOR AND DREW RECORD-BREAKING LIVE AUCTIONS FROM THE CROWD. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENING: BOB’S HANDSTAND AND THE GENEROUS GALA BIDDING! (THE PARKING SPOT WENT FOR $4K!). TO TOP IT OFF, OUR GALA ACTUALLY MADE THE 11 O’CLOCK NEWS! (SEE VIDEO).
BUT BEST OF ALL, IT WAS A RECORD-BREAKING FUNDRAISER…$100K RAISED FOR TWO VERY WORTHY CAUSES! THANK YOU SPONSORS, DONORS, AND ATTENDEES FOR MAKING THIS THE BIGGEST ONE YET! THANK YOU, GALA COMMITTEE AND BYC STAFF ALSO FOR A FABULOUS EVENT.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 4TH FOR THE 2023 GALA!! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
