Methodist soiree in final stretch

As much as Ann Rowell enjoys volunteering with Methodist Family Health across the board, her chairmanship of the agency’s new fundraiser was a “sure thing.” Southern Silks: A Derby Day Soiree is themed to complement Saturday’s 140th racing of the Kentucky Derby. The stick horse, which will be joined by its competitor “faux” horses during the Little Rock event, is from The Toggery; racing silks are compliments of Superior Stables LLC.
As much as Ann Rowell enjoys volunteering with Methodist Family Health across the board, her chairmanship of the agency’s new fundraiser was a “sure thing.” Southern Silks: A Derby Day Soiree is themed to complement Saturday’s 140th racing of the Kentucky Derby. The stick horse, which will be joined by its competitor “faux” horses during the Little Rock event, is from The Toggery; racing silks are compliments of Superior Stables LLC.

Ann Rowell has never been to the Kentucky Derby.

That hasn’t stopped her from taking on the chairmanship of a new fundraiser designed to capture all the fun, millinery fashion, excitement, competitive spirit and mint julep-sipping that comes with the first of America’s Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing.

Southern Silks: A Derby Day Soiree, a benefit for Methodist Family Health, will take place the evening of the 140th Kentucky Derby, which will be run Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. A 30-footsquare game board and color-coded betting windows will be set up for guests to have the opportunity to bet on six pretend horse races that are also color coded; “faux horse races,” Jane Dennis, director of communications for Methodist, calls them.

Event and table sponsors have supplied the horses and their names along with human jockeys - sponsors themselves and agency supporters. Jockeys will advance at the roll of dice, indicating the color and number of spaces to advance. Guests who bet on their favorite horse will have a chance for Win, Place (second place) or Show (third place) prizes based on a drawing of tickets placed into a bucket representing that horse. These prizes include trips, certificates, art work, jewelry and other items whose values may exceed $1,000.

“I think we’ve all done the silent auction, live auction, dinner thing a lot,” Rowell says. “And I just really feel like this [event] is one [that’s] interactive. They can play, they can bet, they can be a part of it, and hopefully have such a good time they’ll be back next year.”

Don’t get her wrong; there will be a live auction. Among the prizes are two tickets to the 2015 Kentucky Derby, a package that also includes admission to the Kentucky Oaks Race for 3-year-old Thoroughbred fillies the day before. Other prizes include a painting by Bob Snider, a local artist who depicts racehorses; and a steak dinner cooked by the Dallas Cowboys chief grill master, Randy Lann.

Much of the event’s buffet food is inspired by the great race, including derby pie (chocolate chip-walnut pie) and “hot brown” sandwiches (open-faced, broiled turkey sandwiches with bacon and Mornay sauce). Mint juleps will headline the libation lineup. And yes, “Kentucky Derby-inspired dress” is encouraged, especially the hats. Activities will include a women’s hat contest. Even the decorations will include hats decorated by local artists and used as table centerpieces.

ON A MISSION

Rowell got involved with Methodist Family Health almost six years ago when she organized Women in Mission, which grew out of a Sunday School class at St. James United Methodist Church.

“When we started out, there was a group of four or five of us that thought, ‘You know, every month we should be out doing something,’” she says.

They performed service projects at various agencies, then volunteered at Methodist Family Health a couple of times, “and that’s all it took,” she says.

“We decided that we would just go there every month and do something for them.”

The group has volunteered in multiple capacities at the agency’s Methodist Behavioral Hospital, Residential Treatment Center and Kaleidoscope Grief Center, and has also helped with the agency’s clothing closet. “They’re just our number one volunteer group that works for us every month on some project,” Dennis says of Women in Mission.

Organizers hope to make Southern Silks an annual event. Planning it, Rowell says, has been “extremely easy for me, because the foundation has such a wonderful staff” that takes on a lot of the responsibility. A team of 12 to 15 volunteers have worked on the event the better part of a year.

“It’s been fun; it’s been a lot of fun - not only to work with the women there at the foundation and the volunteers, but to put together something that I really feel is unique.”

SHOWING THE LOVE

When it comes to charitable efforts, Rowell is a longtime veteran.

“My motto really is, I have been blessed so we should go out and bless others. I feel very lucky that I’ve been able to do that. And my husband [Stephen Rowell] is very willing for me to be able to do that,” she adds.

In fact, Stephen Rowell serves on the foundation board, “so this particular mission is family-oriented,” she says. “It has become near and dear to both our hearts.”

Of the various Methodist Family Health facilities, Rowell personally loves volunteering at the emergency shelter, the center’s group foster home for children who are taken from their homes and don’t have immediate placement. “I especially have a soft spot in my heart for them,” she says. “For as many times as we’ve done that and been with those kids, it is amazing … that they are as well-behaved as they are.”

Families of these children, and others served by Methodist Family Health, will benefit from Southern Silks proceeds. The money goes to the agency’s compassion fund, which provides necessities such as transportation and food for clients’ families.

“With this one fundraiser, we hope to build up our compassion fund so it will help more children,” Dennis says. “A lot of times when they’re faced with children with mental health diagnoses, [families] don’t know where to turn, don’t know where to get help. We feel very confident that we can get them the help at whatever level they need.”

And treat Southern Silks guests to a different vibe.

“Come and play,” Rowell urges. “It’s not just a passive party.”

Southern Silks: a Derby Day Soiree benefiting Methodist Family Health, 6 p.m. Saturday at the Metroplex, 10800 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock. Tickets are $75 for individuals; $125 for couples and $1,000 for a reserved table of 10. Call Jamie Griffith at (501) 906-4209 or visit methodistfamily.org.

High Profile, Pages 37 on 04/27/2014

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