The fifth annual Trident Realty Corp Waverly Moonlight Martinis event at Riverside’s 5 Points Theater raised more than $165,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. More than 350 guests attended the old Hollywood lifestyle-themed event with gourmet fare and flowing martinis while raising money to find a cure for cystic fibrosis.
Since the first Moonlight Martinis event in 2002, more than half a million dollars has been raised for cystic fibrosis research. Attendance has doubled since the first event five years ago and the amount raised each year surpasses the previous year’s record-breaking total.
“We are so pleased to work with Trident Realty Corp for the third year in a row to create this incredible event,” said Claudia Werner, executive director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “Once again, the Jacksonville community has come together to support the efforts of the CF Foundation. What a fitting way to celebrate our fifth year of Moonlight Martinis at the 5 Points Theater.”
Did You Know?
• Many related business activities or services are offered in-house by real estate firms, or offered through out sourcing or a business relationship with another firm. Among in-house offerings, 36 percent of firms offer business brokerage (the buying and selling of businesses such as retail stores), 24 percent relocation services, 12 percent mortgage lending, 8 percent home warranty, 5 percent title or escrow services and 5 percent home improvement. Smaller categories include settlement services, homeowners insurance, other insurance, home inspection, moving services and securities brokerage.
(The 2006 National Association of Realtors Profile of Real Estate Firms: An Industry Overview.)
The 5 Points Theater was decorated to be reminiscent of the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Waiters in white top hats and white gloves passed trays of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the end of the evening.
Writer and chairman emeritus of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Frank Deford, whose daughter died from the complications of cystic fibrosis, gave a speech about his family’s experience battling the disease.
The evening featured a live auction hosted by Brian Sexton, the voice of the Jacksonville Jaguars, where guests fought to win one of the seven auction packages, bringing in bids ranging from $1,500 to $8,000. The package receiving the highest bid was the “Alltel Broadcast Booth.” Two winners will spent an evening in the Jaguars broadcast booth with Brian Sexton and former Jaguar Jeff Lageman and experienced live broadcasting during ESPN’s Monday Night Football when the Jaguars play ed the New York Giants Nov. 20. The package also included signed Jaguar memorabilia.
Anne Jessup of LandMar Group won a pair of 18 karat, white gold, diamond earrings donated by Gregory’s Jewelers of Jacksonville Beach and valued at $2,000.
“We are honored to be a part of Moonlight Martinis for the third year in a row,” said Trident Realty Corp President and CEO and title sponsor Ron Buckley. “The event is a terrific way for guests to come together and have a great time while raising much needed money to find a cure for the disease.”
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was established in 1955 to assure the development of a means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those afflicted with the disease. When the Foundation began, few children with the disease lived to attend elementary school. Today, the median age of survival for a person with cystic fibrosis is 36.8 years. Researchers are now working on correcting the basic defect that causes cystic fibrosis and believe development of these treatments can eventually put an end of the cascading effects on the disease.