On Tuesday, Joe and Lisa Rice hosted the third annual Bulls Bay Golf Challenge, a benefit for MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund. Although the late afternoon weather was a bit spotty, the good cheer inside the clubhouse was warm and celebratory. Golfers and significant others gathered for a steak and salmon dinner after the challenge, and few could have predicted the magic that would unfold during the course of the evening.
I was seated with Dean and Caroline Stephens, whom many of you will remember from the harrowing experience that seized their family when then-infant son Sam was accidently run over by a car last year. During the opening remarks, Dean shared a few specific experiences he had with doctors, nurses, and even the parking attendant during Sam’s first week in the hospital. The dinner, attended by approximately 150 people, stood absolutely silent until— as if on cue— a tiny voice from the back of the room piped up with, “Hi Daddy!” Sam, an angelic towhead toddler scampered into the open arms of his father. As Sam clowned for the audience, grabbed at the microphone, and laughed with the precious innocence every child should possess, Dean beamed; the look on his face told the whole story. The gratitude the Stephens family feels for the Children’s Hospital was a poignant reminder of how lucky Charleston is to have such a world-class facility in the community.
Auctioneer Doug Warner then took to the stage with a slate of a dozen lots. As he warmed up the crowd, Doug reminded host Joe Rice that “the last time we were in a room together, a puppy was sold for $40,000.” (This occurred at Another Night at Fleet Landing, a benefit dinner and auction for the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center that takes place every February.)
Artwork and trips, including one to new-but-already-fabled Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, raised a pretty penny, but it was not until musician Edwin McCain— the entertainment for the night— spontaneously offered a private concert “anyplace, anywhere” that the event took an unforgettable turn.
Auctioneer Doug Warner looked to the audience for help with setting the opening bid price, and the room was relatively quiet. Anyone who has been around Edwin will attest to his laid-back and rather humble nature, so when Beth Rucker shouted a suggestion of $10,000, the shock immediately registered on Edwin’s face, which endeared him to the crowd. And off the bidding went, climbing slowly at first, but by the time the $20,000 mark was reached, there seemed to be no end in sight. At one point, Darius Rucker dashed over to Edwin and they conferred privately for a moment before Darius announced that he would join Edwin for the private concert. A fierce bidding battle commenced until it reached the $30,000 mark, at which point Darius offered two concerts if the top bidders would match each other’s bid. “We ain’t done!” shouted Joe Rice, one of the heated bidders, and off they went again. Again, Darius tried to offer two concerts, one for each of the top bidders, once bids hit the $40,000 mark, only to be told to “sit down, we’re still not done!” Finally, after much frenzied excitement and people leaping to their feet to watch the bids lobby back and forth, two concerts were auctioned to the top bidders, respectively, for a grand total of $100,000.
Through the din of applause, Sam’s impish voice repeated, “Yea! Yea! Yea!”, and there could have been no better sentiment than his sheer exuberance to close an evening that netted $214,000 for the Children’s Hospital Fund.
If you would like to support this great cause, you are in luck! Every year, patients contribute artwork for the holiday card program. For $10, you receive 16 original cards like this one, which is credited to 6-year-old Amy Patterson, a Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and hearing impared patient.
Click here to order: http://www.musckids.com/
Caritas.
Ida
