by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When John Falconetti of the Drummond Press takes his seat at the dais at this year’s Spina Bifida roast in November, he’ll surely take some good-natured ribbing. There will be inside jokes, anecdotes everyone knows, humorous pot shots and maybe even a few complimentary remarks.
However, once the roast is over, Falconetti will have taken shots from some of Jacksonville’s biggest political and social names and he’ll join an impressive list of Jacksonvillians that have taken it on the chin for a good cause.
Over the course of the past 21 years, the Spina Bifida Association of Jacksonville has roasted some of this town’s elite: former mayors Jake Godbold, Ed Austin and John Delaney have all been roast honorees as have State Sen. Jim King, State Rep. Don Davis, former Sheriff Nat Glover, current Sheriff John Rutherford, and attorneys Howard Coker and Steve and Gary Pajcic, just to name a few. The fact that the list of honorees is politically top heavy isn’t by coincidence.
“We have always been lucky to have good friends in the political arenas,” said Stephanie King, executive director of SBAJ. “We kind of model our roast after the national Spina Bifida Association’s and this year they are roasting (television interviewer) Barbara Walters.”
Falconetti, who served as the dinner chair and a roaster last year, is active behind the political scenes. He said he knew what he was getting into and was looking forward to a few jokes at his expense in return for raising money for the local Spina Bifida Association.
“It’s for a good cause and no question it will be fun,” he said. “Last year we had a lot of fun dishing it and for an hour and a half we laughed and we cried.”
This year’s master of ceremonies is City Council President Kevin Hyde and Falconetti will be roasted by Mayor John Peyton, Bruce Barcelo, Rutherford and AmSouth City President Marty Lanahan.
King, who has been with the association for eight years, said athletes and movie stars make good roast honorees, but locally, her association prefers politicians and others with good citywide recognition.
“To have a great roast, you need someone with good community ties. It really helps with fundraising,” said King, adding the SBAJ’s goal this year is to top the $100,000 mark after raising nearly $90,000 last year. “Every year it gets bigger.”
King said she expects about 400 people to attend this year’s 22nd annual roast, which is Nov. 19 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. The first local Spina Bifida roast was in 1983 and the honoree was former Atlanta Braves pitcher Phil Neikro.
“He was the national spokesperson for Spina Bifida in the 1970s and he just remained involved in the organization,” said King. “He was touched by the kids and he kept his ties to the national board. We have also roasted (former Miami Dolphins running back) Larry Csonka and (former Florida Gators head coach) Charley Pell.”
King said statewide approximately 1,000 people are afflicted by the birth defect which is a congenital defect of the spine — a hole in the spine. It is the No. 1 permanent disability in the United States, occurs in the first 28 days of a pregnancy and can cost up $2 million to treat over the course of a lifetime.