- November 18, 2024
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The Taste of the Keys and Fashion Show brought a night of fun, fashion and food to Longboat Key on Jan. 19, but its purpose runs much deeper.
Proceeds from the sixth annual event go to the Longboat Key Garden Club's grant and scholarship funds. This year’s event was sold out, topping out at about 280 people in attendance. In April, the Garden Club awards six local students $4,000 scholarships. Nine local organizations last year received a total of $15,000 in grants. The goal of this year’s event was to be able to provide the same amount of scholarships and grants in 2017, if not more.
The evening began with guests enjoying bites from 11 local restaurants and continued with a fashion show. Seven models, who were among previous scholarship recipients, sported outfits from Tommy Bahama. In a way, stepping onto the runway was a way for them to give back to the organization that gave them so much.
“That, to me, is a face to a charity,” Patty Sileo, a member of the event committee said.
When greeting the crowd, club President Susan Phillips said when the club started in 1969 it was a “dirt under our fingernails” club, and then it took a philanthropic turn.
One event sponsor is helping the club continue that path. Michael Renick of Michael J. Renick & Co./ Mangrove Real Estate announced to the audience that $1,000 from every home his company sells in 2017 will be donated to the Garden Club.
“We’re here because we believe in what this club does,” Renick said.
Following Renick’s announcement, he pulled the winning raffle ticket for the grand prize — a three-night stay in the New Orleans French Quarter with landmark dining experiences and privately guided tours. Meike Dooley was the lucky winner.
“I never win anything,” she said. “It’s awesome.”