Tuesday, June 19, 2007

CVS Golf Gala

by Frank Carpano

Monday night the scene shifted to Newport for the CVS Caremark Charity Classic Gala.
This is the first year it was held in Newport. Usually it is held at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
The site was Marble House, one of the spectacular mansions on Bellevue Avenue.

1200 invited guests were treated to a wonderful evening of food, drink and entertainment.
When we arrived guests were directed to a parking area at a beach club on Ocean Drive. Buses transported us to the entrance of the Marble House.

We entered through the main hallway of the mansion and proceeded to the backyard where most of the guests gathered prior to dinner.

Soon after we were directed to a huge tent for dinner. Dinner under a tent? It’s not what you think. The tent was huge,
big enough for the 1200 guests, a dance floor and stage.

Here’s the menu for dinner

Local Farmers Green Sald with Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese - Freshly Baked Artisan Bread with Sweet Butter - Seared Fitel Mignon with marsala Demi-Glace - Shrimp Scallop Brochette with local Summer Snap Beans and Chive Mashed Potatoes - Classic Key Lime Pie and Chocolate Truffle Torte with seasonal berry coulis.

Dinner was followed by a speaking program. Once again I had the honor to open the program as the emcee.
CVS President and CEO Tom Ryan followed, he introduced tournament co-hosts Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon.
All the golfers were there. They each sat at a different table of sponsors. The only golfer other than Billy and Brad to speak was Lee Trevino. He paid tribute to Billy and Brad and their efforts putting together the tournament

Seated at tables around me were Billy Andrade, Juli Inkster, Nick Price and Lee Trevino. Price sat with Tom Ryan. Also joining Ryan at his table were NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Governor Don Carcieri.

The annual live auction is always a highlight of the evening. And last night was no exception. There were only 6 items.
My favorite was a Masters tournament package. It included (for 4 guests), 2 day badges for the Masters, a house with chef and ground transportation. It also included a foursome at Sage Valley, the premier private club in the Augusta area.  It was auctioned off for $50,000! They added a 7th item at the end of the auction and raised a total of $635,000. And it all goes to charity! What is better than that.

Kool and the Gang came on stage and got everybody dancing until it was time to leave.

A great night had by all