‘Wild About Kids’ Gala held at Ritz-Carlton

Mike Smith and Elena V. Carpenter (Publisher of Miami Monthly Magazine); Doris and Charnley Conway (VP of UPS)

Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade hosted their Third Annual Gala last weekend, featuring a “Wild About Kids” theme at The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove. The gala’s chair was philanthropist Lana DeSimone and the co-emcee was chef and TV personality Ralph Pagano, host of FLN’s Pressure Cook, who was also featured in TV’s Iron Chef & Hell’s Kitchen. His co-emcee was Michele Gillen, CBS4 I-Team Chief Investigative Reporter.


Alex Rodriguez-Roig (Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade), Christina Rodriguez-Roig and Olga Guilarte

The highlight of the night was a special performance by children from Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade of Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First routine. After their performance, the children walked around the ballroom encouraging guests to sponsor a child through a $250 donation. All proceeds benefited the five clubs in the Miami-Dade area.

“The Gala celebrated how wild we are about our kids. The children in our community count on our organization to have a place where they can attend after-school and summer programs for studying, sports, mentoring and organized activities,” stated Alex Rodriguez-Roig, Executive Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade.

For more information, please visit http://www.bgcmia.org.

At left: Erika King and Lana DeSimone (Philanthropist and Gala Chair)