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Black Tie International
4th Annual Lights
Out Gala Raises $93,000 for
Loggerhead Marinelife Center
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4th
Annual Lights Out
Gala Raises $93,000
for Loggerhead
Marinelife Center
Event Serves as
Reminder of “Lights
Out” Campaign During
Sea Turtle Nesting
Season
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Patricia and Gordon Gray
were the honorary
co-chairs of the
4th Annual Lights Out Gala benefiting Loggerhead Marinelife
Center. Here they stand
in the center’s on-site
veterinary hospital
which bears their name.
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March 1, 2011 – Juno Beach, FL –Loggerhead
Marinelife Center’s
premiere fundraiser, the Fourth Annual Lights Out Gala, was
held on February 25th and raised $93,000
for the non-profit organization while celebrating the
March 1st start of sea turtle nesting season on
Florida’s east coast. Named for the worldwide Lights Out
campaign which urges people to adopt a lights out policy
near the beach during nesting season, the evening served as
an important reminder of the plight of the threatened and
endangered sea turtles that Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC)
researches and rehabilitates throughout the year. Chaired by
Susan Johnson and Beth Neuhoff, both of Jupiter, the gala
honored Nathaniel and Alita Reed for their shared lifelong
dedication to environmental conservation. Mr. Reed, who says
marrying Alita was the best thing he ever did, surprised his
wife and childhood neighbor with the honor that evening
because she has always shied from recognition. The gala’s
honorary chairs were Gordon and Patricia Gray of Jupiter.
Over 200 of the
organization’s supporters dressed in Island Casual Chic
attire entered the gala through LMC’s front doors, only to
be enchanted by what came next. The inside immediately
revealed aquariums active with sea life, setting the tone
for the evening’s Under the Sea Soiree. With glasses
of champagne in hand, guests were greeted next by a live
mermaid posed on top of a shimmering palate. Partygoers
enjoyed cocktails and a Kettle One vodka luge in the
center’s FPL Turtle Yard, while the beauty and delicacy of
the center’s current sea turtle
patients
captivated onlookers. Guests also spoke with LMC biologists
and toured through the center’s on-site Gordon & Patricia
Gray Veterinary Hospital.
After cocktails, guests
moved to a tent draped with aqua colored fabrics while
dinner prepared by Bonefish Grill was served on tables
decorated with tall marine-themed centerpieces. A brief
program emceed by Tim Luke of HGTV’s “Cash in the Attic”
followed. LMC President & C.O.O. David McClymont emphasized
the center’s mission to promote conservation of Florida’s
coastal ecosystems with a special focus on threatened and
endangered sea turtles. Joining the center in this mission,
clothing company
vineyard vines®
announced a LMC tie as the newest feature in the company’s
Tied to a Cause Collection.
Guests pledging additional minimum donations of $250.00 came
home with the tie that evening. Shepherd Paul (“Shep”)
Murray, co-founder of vineyard vines®, attended the gala to
show his support.
After the debut of the new
tie, partygoers danced to the beat of a DJ. The gala’s
ultimate raffle drawing was saved for last. Featuring a
seven-day cruise to any worldwide destination by Regent
Seven Seas Cruises; a $2,500 vineyard vines® shopping spree;
and a $500 “Dining Around” package courtesy of Palm Beach
Illustrated, the raffle served as a major fundraiser during
the evening.
Corporations
sponsoring the annual event included AW Property Co.,
Bonefish Grill, Fite Shavell & Associates, Florida Power &
Light, Ketel One, Loggerhead Club and Marina, Palm Beach
Illustrated, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Saks Fifth Avenue –
Palm Beach Gardens, Swoozie’s, Tequesta Agency, Tiffany &
Co. Palm Beach Gardens, and Vineyard Vines. Individual
sponsors were Tom and Barbara Bascetta, Anja Burns, Robert
Chlebek, Gordon and Patricia Gray, Ray and Tarry Graziotto,
Lara and John Killgore, Brian and Alice Waxman, and the
event’s co-chairs Susan Johnson and Beth Neuhoff.
About Loggerhead
Marinelife Center:
Loggerhead
Marinelife Center (LMC), a non-profit organization, is
committed to the conservation of Florida’s coastal
ecosystems through public education, research and
rehabilitation with a focus on threatened and endangered sea
turtles. The center features an on-site campus hospital,
learning exhibits and aquariums. Situated on the world’s
most important sea turtle nesting beach, Loggerhead
Marinelife Center is open daily and plays host to over
200,000 visitors each year. For more information, visit
www.marinelife.org or call 561-627-8280.
Biography for Nathaniel and Alita Reed:
Nathaniel and Alita Reed
are passionate about saving the precious Florida Everglades
and dedicated to its restoration. Mr. Reed currently serves
as Vice Chairman of the Everglades Foundation. He has served
seven governors, he was Chairman of the Commission on
Florida’s Environmental Future, and served as Assistant
Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in
the Nixon and Ford administrations. He is a former board
member and vice chairman of the National Audubon Society and
the Nature Conservancy, board member of the National Parks &
Conservation Association, American Rivers, and serves as
emeriti on the boards of the Natural Resources Defense
Council and 1000 Friends of Florida, which he helped form.
He has also served on the board of the National Geographic
Society since 1988.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed have been advocates for the preservation
and restoration of the Everglades on the local, state and
national level. They have devoted their lives to
environmental leadership and activism, often working in the
field of policy and politics to protect ecological values of
Florida and the United States. Mr. Reed’s love of nature and
the outdoors began early in life. He was born in New York
City and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut and Jupiter
Island, Florida. In Florida his childhood years were spent
fishing in the Indian River and exploring the coastal
pinewoods, streams, estuaries and sand lakes. These
experiences caused him to develop a deep-rooted appreciation
for the area’s ecosystems, and an understanding of how they
could be impacted by uncontrolled development.
Mr. Reed lifts the curtain
on Jupiter Island with his new book, A Different Vision: The
History of the Hobe Sound Company and the Jupiter Island
Club, a picture-packed hardback that costs $106.50. The book
traces island history from the early 1930s, when his parents
Permelia Pryor Reed and Joseph Verner Reed formed a company
with 33 residents to buy land in Hobe Sound and Jupiter
Island, including a small inn, nine-hole golf course, beach
club, dock and five cottages. Mr. Reed’s memoir chronicles
growing up in a way of life that no longer exists.
Mr. Reed shared his
passion for the environment with Alita Weaver, his childhood
neighbor in Greenwich, who later became his wife. She was a
driving force behind his work, often inspiring him to fight
on behalf of the environment on days he was facing a tough
battle. Her endless support was a motivating factor in much
of the direction and accomplishments of his career.
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