This weekend I had the pleasure of attending USC’s 1st Annual “Coaches vs Cancer” fundraiser hosted by Head USC Basketball Coach Frank Martin and his wife Anya. It was awesome!
My good friends David Ross of MG&C Law and Michael Gunn of Forge Consulting invited Jennifer, Amanda, and me to the event. I was flattered these guys thought of us, and moreover, glad we went.
The venue was awesome. A huge tent doused with lights was set up on the floor of the Colonial Life Arena. The food was primo, the drinks were flowing, and the dance floor was bumpin. If you’re wondering about the attire/hats, it was a Kentucky Derby theme party.
The highlight of the night was probably the actual bidding during the live auction. Here’s what happened. Auction item #1 was a Cuban dinner prepared by Frank and Anya Martin. “Oookayyy,” you may say. Now say this. $10,000 X’s 2! The bidding got so high that Coach Martin split the bid such that both high bidders could win. BOOM! $20,000.
Then one of South Carolina’s coolest sons stepped to the stage. Darius Rucker, who pledged a signed guitar before the event, took the microphone and upped his love. What began as a signed guitar turned into a day with Darius, which included a round of golf at Bull’s Bay (with buddies), and 4 tickets to one of any of his concerts in the country. Two bidders battled up to $18,000. Like Coach Martin, Darius doubled his commitment and BOOM, $36,000 was in the pot.
As you can see from the pics above we all had a good time. The first pic is of my gorgeous wife and me. She was a TROOPER (remember, we’re having twins in the fall!). The second pic is a bunch of good buds squished together, including hosts David and Michael (see ‘host rose’ on Michael’s lapel). The third is a snapshot of a collection of a real estate professional dream team; Two top shelf lenders (Becky Craven-First Citizens, Kelley Ross-SCBT), two REALTORS (I’m biased), and my biggest closer (David Ross-MG&C Law).
As you can see we all laughed a lot and had a huge time. Big thanks to Coach and Anya Martin… David Ross and Michael Gunn. We will be back next year!
FJ
