Amelia & Nathaniel ~ March of Dimes Featured Kids

BETTENDORF, Ia. – For the third year in a row, I’ll be shooting the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction in mid-October. The event features area chefs who prepare some incredible dishes you can sample and vote on, along with numerous silent and live auction items that are quite spectacular.

To honor the chefs participating this year March of Dimes wanted to feature each with local kids who were born premature. Jason Gomez, the executive chef for Farraday’s at the Isle of Capri, is photographed with Amelia, age 2, and her big brother Nathaniel, who is 3. Nathaniel was born at 32 weeks and spent 31 days in the NICU, and sister Amelia was born at 35 weeks and spent 23 days in the NICU. They are two of the handful of kids selected to be featured at the Signature Chefs Auction.

For more information, check out this link… and stay tuned, as more kids will be featured on the blog in the weeks leading up to the big event!

Have a great day!

Shuva

Canadian Hockey, The Beatles & Me at Rock Island Jumer’s

Tomorrow I will be shooting the annual Children’s Therapy Center Sports Memorabilia Auction, which is at Jumer’s in Rock Island starting at 5:30 p.m.

I took photos recently of most of the live auction items which will be projected on two large screens for the audience to see. Most of the autographed sports items (football helmets, baseballs, footballs, basketballs, etc…) also will be accompanied with a picture bio slide projected of the athlete or coach.

Marv Cook, former NFL player in the early to mid-’90s and former Iowa Hawkeye, will be the keynote speaker. Prior to that you can find him signing autographs at the Black & Gold Shop in Davenport.

After that, expect some hardcore bidding wars over a few unique items up for grabs – like these:

Hooters Golf Bag with 8 rounds of golf at Crow Valley; Vancouver 2010 Olympic package that includes signed hockey pucks from the Chicago Blackhawk players who were also part of the Gold Medal Canadian Hockey Team

Beatles Logo Guitar, autographed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and longtime Beatles record producer Sir George Martin

Autographed basketballs by Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bobby Knight

And last but not least, from yours truly:

Tickets are $40 per person or $350 for a Corporate Table of 10. The live auction starts at 7.

Hope to see you there!

’09 March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction

Last Wednesday I had an opportunity to photograph the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction for a second year. There was some changes this time, the obvious one being a new venue – the QC Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf to showcase the event’s Around the World theme:

There was a bit of culture showcased on stage – traditional and contemporary African, Indian and Native American dances, along with a jazz ensemble in the lobby:

Nearby the jazz ensemble were tables of silent auction items – including lots of wine, hotel stays, gift certificates from area restaurants, polo shirts, purses, car washes, oil changes, tickets to area museums, theatre tickets, photo packages by me and more.

Off to the side, was an ice sculpture of the March of Dimes logo.

Like last year, I couldn’t tell you what I ate but I liked nearly everything I tasted. This year was no different except there were more dishes and they were all sooo good!!  Also, kudos to Chef Angela Pobanz of Bass Street Chop House for remembering that I am vegetarian and whipping up a meatless plate for me.

Rose Goodding-Robinson, a certified nurse-midwife, was given special recognition at the evening’s event for her work in developing the first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the Quad Cities. Well deserved!

Now for the action of the live auction.

Just to highlight a few photos below, this live auction was a hit thanks to the wickedly awesome auctioneering talents of Jana Stenzel of Stenzel Auction (top left). One of the lucrative items being auctioned off was a football signed by Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz (middle left) along with press box seats at the Iowa-Minnesota game in Iowa City on Nov. 21. Troy and Kasi, (center) whose family photos I took earlier this year, were winners of the Ellen DeGeneres package, which includes tickets from AirTran (Lucky them!). Steve Ketelaar of KUUL 101.3 FM served as the evening’s emcee (right center) and March of Dimes Division Director Deena Bradford (bottom left) had the honors of presenting a live auction package. And back to Jana (bottom right) who was successful in selling identical packages to a man who lost a bid.

Last but not least, the event can’t be ended without recognizing Grant, this year’s Ambassador Child. His parents Jeff and Linda presented a slideshow telling their story about Grant being born 9 weeks early and the emotions surrounding his difficult birth and ultimate road home as a newborn. Even though it was past his bedtime, the 5-year-old took a moment to hug a few generous donors. In the final tally, $62,000 was raised from the evening’s event!