| | Cincinnati's Shayne Graham and Nick Lachey Host Celebrity Luncheon
January 29, 2009
The very best heroes are the homegrown kind. That message rang through loud and clear at the Greater Cincinnati Chapter's 22nd Annual Celebrity Waiters Luncheon, which brought together a host of hometown heroes for an afternoon of festivities to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. With Cincinnati Bengals’ Kicker Shayne Graham on board as honorary event chair and an appearance from celebrity and hometown hero Nick Lachey, the 300 guests at the exclusive club lounge at Paul Brown Stadium raised a record $105,000 in support of the quest for a cure.
Details That Made a Difference
Hometown hero Nich Lachey poses with eight-year-old
guest of honor Kylie Meyer, who has CF, at the Greater Cincinnati Chapter's 22nd Annual Celebrity Waiters Luncheon.
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It was not your ordinary “rubber chicken” luncheon. One highlight was the Celebrity Grand Entrance, when a long line of Cincinnati’s hottest celebrities including Bengal Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz, News 5 meteorologist Valerie Abati and funk rapper Bootsy Collins proceeded down the grand stairway to the luncheon hall, each holding aloft ten balloons. Guests delighted in snapping photos and purchasing the prize-filled balloons.
Guest of Honor 8-year-old Kylie Meyer, who has CF, stood on a chair to deliver a moving Bid for a Cure speech that brought the audience to its feet. Corporate sponsors Furniture Fair and Cheviot Savings Bank generously set the Bid bar high with an offer to match up to $5,000 each, and Honorary Event Chair Shayne Graham chipped in $5,000 of his own.
When all was said and done, guests had raised an impressive $26,000 in the event’s first-ever Bid for a Cure.
Special guest Nick Lachey, from boy band 98 Degrees and MTV show Newlyweds, was a notable presence, selling prize balloons, signing autographs and posing for pictures with eager fans.
Touched by Kylie’s moving Bid Lachey said, “Kylie hasn’t let this terrible disease hold her back for even one minute. She puts in perspective what today is all about—finding better treatments and someday a cure for other people just like her.”
Thanks a Million!
Thanks a million to Honorary Chair Shayne Graham, and special guest and Cincinnati hometown hero Nick Lachey.
Many thanks also go to the Greater Cincinnati Chapter's own “stars”:
- Event Chair Tina Glass
- Kylie Meyer and her family: Dad Barry, Mom Denise and big sister Madison
- Tim Bien, who secured more than $20,000 in corporate support
The afternoon owes much of its success to the following corporate sponsors:
- Cheviot Savings Bank
- Furniture Fair
- Three Olives Vodka
- Proctor & Gamble
- Robison Family Foundation
Watch a video of the 22nd Annual Celebrity Waiters Luncheon.
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