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For Valentine's Day this year, why not take a spouse, date or friend out for dinner and dancing and support a good cause, too?
The Red Ball will be Feb. 10 at the Explorer hangar at the Warsaw Airport. Highlights of the evening will be dancing to the Robert Henry Orchestra and a silent auction with romantic offerings. Proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross.
Tickets are $100 each. For ticket information, call 457-4458.
"We picked that day because it's a Valentine theme. We're trying to encourage husbands to use that as their reasons for going plus helping a good cause," said Rebecca Kubacki, Red Ball committee co-chair.
Cathy Teghtmeyer, committee co-chair, said, "The purpose to raise the money is for a response trailer for the Red Cross to take throughout the county, which will be filled with needed equipment that they will have to have on site for occurrences ... plus they can take the trailer along when they visit schools, to do blood drives and stuff like that. The money is going toward that project."
The Red Ball is a first-time event for the American Red Cross, said Kubacki. A committee, Friends of the Red Cross, was formed of community citizens to support the American Red Cross and plan the Red Ball.
"We're going to have a silent auction and also a live auction," said Teghtmeyer. "And Allen Designs has donated a piece that was specifically designed for this event. It's a one-of-a-kind pearl choker with a heart clasp with a diamond inset."
The necklace, which will be the big ticket item of the night, is a 16-inch necklace of fine-cultured double strand pearls 5-1/2 to 6 millimeters with a handmade 14- karat heart center and one .15- carat cut diamond that is bezel set in the heart. It has a 14-karat round filagree clasp.
There also will be "a lot of romantic packages that will be auctioned off as well," said Teghtmeyer.
Some of the items that will be auctioned include a romantic getaway to Chicago which includes tickets to "Mama Mia," the hottest play in Chicago, and an overnight stay at the Drake Hotel and dinner; a basket with $1,000 in perfume; a couples sunset progressive dinner on Tippecanoe Lake; an airplane trip; a birthday package with the Warsaw Fire Department for kids; a Sony CD/DVD system; a Victoria Secret package; a package from the Ramada Plaza Hotel; a Happy Birthday package of personalized outdoor billboards; and Sweetheart Portraits from Cox Studios.
"Everything has sort of a romantic theme to it," said Kubacki.
The Robert Henry Orchestra, South Bend, will play swing, '70s and '80s music. Dinner will be catered by The Victorian Pantry, Granger. "It's going to be a really elegant sit-down dinner," said Kubacki.
The Disaster Assistance Trailer, which will be totally equipped, has a price tag of approximately $15,000. "We're hopefully going to raise much more than that," said Kubacki.
"And that's because they do have kind of a dream list of things they'd like to have that will assist the entire community," said Teghtmeyer.
Kubacki said, "They have a wish list that, whatever we can raise, can go toward that wish list that they have, which is huge."
To say thanks to the patrons who helped sponsor or provided items for the Red Ball, a patron party was held Jan. 26 in Syracuse, with special guest WNDU meteorologist Mike Hoffman. United Way of Kosciusko County was honored at the patron party, too.
Planning for the Red Ball began in the summer.
Kubacki said planning the event was a great time. "We had the best committee. Everybody on this committee is great to work with and we just had a really great time putting it together. It's been so much fun."
She summed up the Red Ball by saying, "It's a wonderful opportunity for the husband to think of something special for his wife in addition to supporting a really good cause."
Patrons of the Red Ball include: Allen's Design, Bambi's Roofing, Bertsch Services, Biomet Inc., Bodkin Abstract Co. Inc., Bowen Center, Mr. and Mrs. Toby Buck, Burkhart Carriage Inc., Chore-Time Equipment, Dana Corp., Dalton Corp., Dekko Heating Technologies, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Explorer Van, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Ferguson, Grossnickle Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William Haldewang, Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Kubacki, Lake City Bank, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Lennox, Lemon, Armey, Hearn & Leininger, Maple Leaf Farms, Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Mr. and Mrs. David Montgomery, Paragon Medical Inc., Printing Plus, Mr. Bob Rousey and Sally Culbertson, Spartech Plastics, Sprint, Symmetry Medical Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Larry Teghtmeyer, Mr. and Mrs. William Tidmore, Wawasee Boat Co. and Zimmer Inc.
