Get Crackin' 2013 - I told you it would be great, and did I lie?

If you were there, you already know that the first ever “Get Crackin’” private bunch to benefit Feeding South Florida on April 21 was beyond a success. In my last blog post, the title was “On the Menu: Good Food & Goodwill.” Well, I understated. It was more along the lines of “Fantastic Food & Amazing Goodwill!”

If you weren’t there (and why not?), here’s what you missed -

Almost $80,000 was raised at the event, which will support Feeding South Florida’s mission: to end hunger in South Florida by providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and by transforming lives through innovative programming and education.

I was honored, along with Feeding South Florida’s CEO Paco Velez, to present the following honorees with awards before thunderous applause (yes, thunderous) --  local celebrity chef and Honoree Allen Susser, Media Hero Honoree The Miami Herald & El Nuevo Herald, and Corporate Citizenship Honoree Southern Wine & Spirits. The awards recognized their devotion to helping the nearly 1 million children, seniors and families that Feeding South Florida serves in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties.

Diana Brooks and Paco Velez with this year's honorees.

And the very, very best part? We all ate scrumptious Joe’s cuisine and signature Mimosas without a wait, while enjoying the music of Leo Casino. So we ate great for a fantastic cause. 

Now a little sponsor love because everyone knows you can’t do an event right without superlative sponsors. Sincere thanks to our:

60,000 meal sponsor: JM Family Enterprises, Inc., 

30,000 meal sponsors: Simply Healthcare Plans and Beam Global Spirits, 

27,000 meal sponsor: CarePlus, 

15,000 meal sponsors: MBAF Certified Public Accountants and Advisors, and Adkins & Associates, 9,000 meal sponsor: Patrón Tequila, 

6,000 meal sponsors: Jordan Winery and TD Bank, 

2,500 meal sponsor: Diageo, 

1,000 meal sponsor: Sprint, and liquor sponsor Pernod Ricard USA/Chivas.

OK, who’s ready to start planning for 2014?

Diana brooks

dbrooks@vsbrooks.com