CREW Jacksonville 10-Year Anniversary Kickoff

On Tuesday December 6^th, CREW Jacksonville held its annual holiday event featuring an art auction and raffle benefiting PACE Center for Girls Jacksonville.  The event also served as the kickoff to its 10-year anniversary as a CREW Network Chapter.  The Past Presidents of CREW Jacksonville were recognized at the event and Lori Avampato with Rolland, DelValle, & Bradley, Inc., and 2004 CREW Jacksonville President, recognized the founding and charter members of CREW Jacksonville.  Rhetta Nussbaum, the 2003 CREW Jacksonville President, recognized Sarah Kelly with Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers, the 1999 CREW Orlando President, with an award for being a key player in assisting with the formation of CREW Jacksonville.  The evening was filled with networking, fun and laughter.  Laura Gonzales with BBVA Compass, 2011 President of CREW Jacksonville and Brenda Ezell with Ezell Law Firm, 2011 President-Elect of CREW Jacksonville made a presentation of notable events occurring over the past 10 years with a peek into 2012.  The event ended with a champagne toast given by the CREW Jacksonville Past Presidents and a new chapter song, “Sweet Home Northeast Florida.”  There is much excitement surrounding the celebration of CREW Jacksonville’s 10-Year Anniversary.

Remembering PACE

At this time of year especially, we like to give.  Our CREW Jacksonville members have given very generously to our philanthropic charity, PACE Center for Girls, both with their time and money.  During our 10-Year Anniversary Kickoff on December 6^th, we raffled ten paintings, sold six paintings by silent auction and sold note cards that illustrated many of the girls’ paintings.  The paintings were abstract, landscapes, and self portraits painted by eight girls from PACE.  The painting sessions were led by local artists that volunteered to help.  Heather Sams and Sarah Rink organized the sessions.  We raised $1,660 during the event on PACE’s behalf.  We collected an additional $1,025 for PACE through our Angel Tree program in October and November.  Katie Connors was the chair of our Angel Tree for this year.  So far, our total donations for these two events total $2,685.  We still have some note cards available for sale.  You can buy them at the upcoming CREW luncheons next year.  Thank you to all who contributed!