Hats on to SHADE Luncheon

Last week I attended a luncheon for a new organization in town - The SHADE Foundation.  Held at the TPC clubhouse in Prestancia, this luncheon was chaired by Grace Carlson and Eliza Culverhouse.  The Executive Director is Sue Gorhman.

One of the main objectives of the organization is to provide shade covers for playgrounds - the first being at Children First.  All the money raised stays in Sarasota County.  Having raised my children here and having them both be very fair-skinned and blonde, I always worried about them being in the sun too much at school, but never thought there was a good preventative tool out there. Apollo SunGuard donated the shade cover at Children First.  The organization says it needs $93,000 to provide shade covers for the almost 14,000 school age children (K- 8) in Sarasota.

Dr. Heidi Anderson told the crowd of about 120, little known skin cancer facts.  I am one of those people who if I hear something, immediately think I have what they are talking about, so truth be told, even though I love Heidi, I didn't listen too closely.  I think that's when I was making notes about who was there.

Bright and beautiful SHADE Foundation founder, Shonda Schilling was there to tell her story.  She is the wife of retired MLB pitcher, Curt Schilling.  She fought a very public battle with stage 2 malignant melanoma.  She had five surgeries and is now cancer-free.  Of course, that story I did listen to and it had me very teary-eyed, but thankfully had a happy and productive ending.

The centerpieces were beautifully and bountifully decorated hats.  One person at each table won the centerpiece to take home and guess what?  I won the one at my table!  Yay!  I will include a photo of it below, but that will be the only photo from the luncheon.  I had forgotten to stick my camera in my handbag and so used my Blackberry and it took the worst pictures ever!  They were so bad, that I can't even show the ones with actual people because they are just hideous! 

Faces in the crowd were Dr. Michelle Pennie, Besty Kane-Hartnett, Mary Ann Robinson, Susan Hines, Julie Delaney, Marjorie Peter, Marjorie North, Denise Mei, Karin Gustafson, Carol Butera-Dutton, Angie Stringer, Fran Levinson, Tamara Chapman, Kathy Coffey, Karen Russell, Diana Kelly, Pam Daniel, Ilene Denton, Kay Kipling, Alex Quarles, Scott Anderson, Jennifer Grondahl, Beth Knopik, Stephania Feltz, and Victoria Stultz.

The centerpiece I won, blurry as it is!