The Penn State Beaver Advisory Board netted a profit of $17,500 at its first fundraising event, which was a Wine, Ale and Food Pairing held last month in the campus Brodhead Bistro and on the Bistro’s outdoor plaza. The event was developed and implemented by the Board’s Advancement and Development Committee.
More than 200 guests participated in the evening’s festivities, which featured 10 wines from five Pennsylvania wineries and several ales from the Beaver Brewing Co., all of which were accompanied by complimentary foods prepared by Jeremy Lindner, director of Beaver’s Office of Housing and Food Services; Kelly Marcello, manager of housing and food services; and their entire staff.
Wines and ales were from Kavic Winery, Carnegie; Presque Isle Wine Cellars, North East; Briar Valley Vineyard & Winery, Bedford; Mazza Vineyards, North East; 6 Mile Cellars Inc., Erie; and the Beaver Brewing Co., Beaver Falls.
The gourmet foods served were chicken satay skewers, California roll, bananas foster, beef panini, spicy tuna roll, fried rice ball, buffalo bison sliders, Mediterranean shrimp pasta, pan-seared scallops, sausage and peppers rustica, and stuffed mushrooms. The evening also included a silent auction and a Nittany Auction, ShutterBooth services donated by Tom and Brandi Patterson and entertainment provided by jazz saxophonist Stan Miller.
Prior to the event, the Advisory Board voted unanimously to direct this year’s proceeds to the Gary B. Keefer Endowed Scholarship at Beaver campus. Keefer, who will retire June 30, joined the campus as director of academic affairs in 1996 and was named chancellor in 1997. The scholarship was established last fall by colleagues, alumni and staff members in honor of Keefer’s tenure as Beaver’s longest-serving chancellor and in recognition of his many contributions to the academic, programmatic and physical plant enhancements on campus.
Primary event sponsors were Raymond James Financial Inc. and ESB Bank. Beverage sponsors were Personal Law, Bert’s Wooden Indian, Presque Isle Wine Cellars, John and Gina Dioguardi, Knickerbocker Russell Co. Inc., Kitchen & Bath Concepts, Day Capital Group, c3 Controls, and Daniel Woodski. Food sponsors were Unis Dental Associates, Atcheson Oral Surgery, Robert’s Roadside and Skerlac Contracting, A2Z Pressure Washing LLC, Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe, and Dan and Jack Pinchot.
Initially, the Advancement and Development Committee was chaired by Carolyn Renninger, advisory board vice president and CEO of C3 Controls, followed by Tom Day, CEO of Day Capital Group. Renninger remained on the committee along with advisory board members I. David Atcheson, oral and maxillofacial surgeon; John Feraco, advisory board president and manufacturing leader for NOVA Chemicals Inc.; Terrie Krukenberg, senior vice president for business development, ESB Bank; David Sebastian, vice president of Sebastian Enterprise Inc.; Laura Tocci, attorney with Personal Law; Tom Trzcinski, owner and president of Kitchen and Bath Concepts; and Nicolas J. Unis, owner and partner, Unis Dental Associates.
“This committee is one of the best I’ve ever worked with,” said Diana Patterson, Beaver campus director of development. “We started out with a lot of different ideas for this evening, but after some discussion, the group decided to go with a wine, ale and food pairing. And it was the right decision; we didn’t know we’d be this successful on our first time out with this fundraiser.”
The board is already planning to expand the event for next year and a date will be announced at a later time.
To view photos from the event, go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatebeaver/sets/72157644363872479/.
For information about the advisory board, contact the Beaver Chancellor’s Office at 724-773-3553 or rxm70@psu.edu.