Masquerade Ball features ‘unmasking’ of GablesHomePage.com

By Matt Bokor

In a festive show of community support, more than 200 masked men and women celebrated their civic achievements Friday night, Oct. 23, at the Coral Gables Community Foundation’s inaugural Masquerade Ball.

Generously sponsored by Bacardi USA, the ball generated badly needed dollars to support the foundation’s numerous initiatives to enhance the quality of life in the City Beautiful.

Brightly costumed stilt-walkers welcomed the black-tie-and-gown crowd at stately Comber Hall, 1251 Palermo Ave., as a throng committed to the betterment of Coral Gables enjoyed music, dance, food, drink and camaraderie.

Among myriad distinguished guests, one was especially honored: business executive Howard Glicken, who received the Coral Gables Community Foundation’s first Legacy Award for his work to improve the city’s tree canopy through the “Greening of the Gables” project.

Emceed by Miami Heat broadcaster Jason Jackson of the Sunshine Network, the event included a five-minute video, produced and donated by Dan Perez of Dan’s Video Creations, documenting the foundation’s achievements of the past year.

Highlight of the evening was the “unmasking” of the foundation’s latest cutting-edge initiative, GablesHomePage.com, a digital venue for real-time news, photos, commentary and announcements specific to Coral Gables.

“The free flow of information -- especially in this rapidly unfolding digital age – is essential to maintaining and enhancing our quality of life,” said Jerry Santeiro, foundation chairman. “Gables Home Page is community property for all of us who either live or work in Coral Gables to share, enjoy and have our voices be heard.”

With that, a computer projection revealed GablesHomePage.com and its array of hyper-local Gables information, built on a broad-based collaboration with the University of Miami School of Communication, The Miami Hurricane newspaper, business groups and schools, as well as citizen journalists and bloggers from the community.

Mr. Santeiro clicked through an assortment of brightly illustrated content, including coverage of the Oct. 19 town hall meeting on the H1N1 virus, a respective on the Golden Gate community, a preview of the Oct. 24 clash between Clemson and the University of Miami, and a screen full of restaurant write-ups and cultural events. Mr. Glicken’s award was the latest posting on the people link.

The snappy synopsis was followed by dinner and a lively auction of appealing diversions:

A five-day, four-night stay for two at the beachfront Negril Treehouse Resort in Jamaica, donated by Gail Jackson, with two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the Caribbean, donated by American Airlines.

Three hours of flight time on a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop for up to six people, donated by the Allen Morris Co.

• Three tickets – the personal seats of four-time, Emmy-winning broadcaster Jason Jackson -- to an upcoming Miami Heat game, including the live post-game show and a visit to Gatorade Championship Alley.

• A 30-minute excursion for four aboard the Goodyear Blimp, donated by Charles Rigl.

Guests also bid on an enticing variety of silent-auction items, donated by generous businesses and individuals all in support of foundation initiatives to improve the quality of life in Coral Gables. For example, Montica Jewelry donated two Raymond Weil his-and-her watches.

In addition to Bacardi USA, ball sponsors included Baptist Health South Florida , Steve Coxhead, Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables and Robert Fewell.

As the evening drew to a close, in keeping with the masquerade theme, guests took home sleeping masks, reminding them to wake up and join the online conversation at GablesHomePage.com.

The innovative site is funded in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Community Information Challenge, which helps community and place-based foundations fund news and information projects to keep residents informed about the topics that matter most to them. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant was matched by a grant from the Coral Gables Community Foundation.

For more information, visit The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Coral Gables Community Foundation.