Mario Batali cooks up a smash-hit Gala for Saint Martin’s
November 9, 2011
Lacey, Washington — Saint Martin’s University
President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D., reported today
that the University’s sixth annual
Gala,
held Saturday, Nov. 5, was a record-breaking success.
The Gala, which featured celebrity chef
Mario Batali and special guest emcee
Lynne Rossetto Kasper, attracted more than 500 guests and
raised more than $550,000, making the event one of the
largest-grossing charity events in the South Sound. A high point
of the evening came during the Feed-a-Mind auction, when guests
“raised their paddle” to make a gift toward student scholarship
funds. This portion of the program raised in excess of
$155,000—more than triple the amount raised last year.
Guests were particularly moved by remarks from Jonathon Hew-Len,
a Saint Martin’s senior who currently serves as president of the
University’s student government. His description of his personal
“Saint Martin’s experience” brought the audience to their feet,
and inspired Batali himself to contribute $15,000 to the cause.
“We couldn’t be prouder of our students,” said Heynderickx.
“Their volunteer efforts throughout the day allowed us to
showcase the very best of Saint Martin’s hospitality.”
For Batali’s visit to campus, the Saint Martin’s community
decked itself out in orange, Batali’s favorite color. Sporting
his signature orange crocs, Batali made his way across the
campus that his father, Armandino Batali ’59, called home
50-some years ago. During a University tour, Batali and his
staff took time to stop in the residence halls, where they were
welcomed with signage announcing, “Saints go orange for our man
Mario.” In addition to chatting with students in the residence
halls, the celebrity chef also spent time with 50 Saints at a
special reception in the Trautman Student Union Building, and
encouraged the students to dedicate one year of their
post-graduation life to serving others.
In the afternoon, Batali mixed and mingled with a limited number
of guests at “Meet
the Chef,” held at O’Grady Library. Attendees received an
autographed copy of the chef’s brand-new cookbook, Molto Batali:
Simple Family Meals from My Home to Yours, and enjoyed the
opportunity to connect with Batali one-on-one. A separate
private reception was held just prior to the Gala, where
Heynderickx presented Batali with a locally crafted gift—a
carbon-steel culinary knife forged by renowned knife-maker and
Olympia resident Bob
Kramer.
The day culminated with the Gala itself, which kicked off with
Batali’s grand entrance into Marcus Pavilion on a silver Vespa.
The Vespa, autographed by the chef, was auctioned off later in
the evening. The Gala program featured an entertaining culinary
demonstration with Batali and Rossetto Kasper, accompanied by
a five-course dinner, wine pairings (specially selected by
Olympia’s Olympic Wine Merchant owner Patrick Hub) and an
exciting live auction. Working closely with Rossetto Kasper,
auctioneer Jeff Stokes of Stokes Auction Group added his own
pizzazz to the evening program.
“Here at Saint Martin’s, we embrace a 116-year tradition of
honoring Benedictine values,” explained Heynderickx. “Among
those values are hospitality, community and stewardship. We
couldn’t imagine a better representation of these values than
Lynne, Mario and the Batali family.
For the first time in the event’s history, the Gala was held on
the Saint Martin’s campus. “We were delighted to open our doors
to guests and welcome them into the Norman Worthington
Conference Center and the Hal and Inge Marcus Pavilion,” said
Saint Martin’s Board of Trustees Chair A. Richard “Rick”
Panowicz. “Both spaces were transformed for the splendid
affair.”
Yesterday, on the ABC daytime talk show,
The Chew, Batali called his visit to Saint Martin’s
University part of a “million-dollar weekend.”
The co-chairs for the 2011 Gala were Dick ’64 and Karen Roney
and Mario’s parents, Armandino ’59 and Marilyn Batali. At the
Gala, Roney and Batali thanked “longtime friends and sponsors,
whose loyalty both inspires and humbles us; brand-new
supporters, whose newfound interest in Saint Martin’s energizes
us; and first-time visitors, whose presence we embrace with much
enthusiasm.”
Saint Martin’s University thanks the
Gala Event
Sponsors: Berschauer Phillips, America’s Credit Union, Brian
Charneski and A. Richard Panowicz, Kathleen O’Grady, Saint
Martin’s Class of '59, Rice Fergus Miller Architecture and
Planning and Sur La Table. The University also thanks the
Gala Table
Sponsors and In-kind sponsors, many of whom have supported
Gala every year since its inception.
Next year’s Gala is scheduled to take place Saturday, Nov. 3,
2012, at Marcus Pavilion. The focus of the event will again be
food and wine. The 2011 Gala sold out by spring; those
interested in attending the 2012 Gala are encouraged to check
Saint Martin’s website,
www.stmartin.edu, frequently for updates on next year’s
celebration.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year,
coeducational university located on a 380-acre wooded campus in
Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of
Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges
and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only
one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University
prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and
six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business,
education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250
students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main
campus, and 650 more to its extension campuses located at Joint
Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College and
Tacoma Community College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University
website at www.stmartin.edu.
For more information:
Jennifer Fellinger
Vice president for marketing and communications
Saint Martin’s University
360-438-4332
www.stmartin.edu