by Dave Freudenberg
Though the event was a bit unorthodox and a new step for Rotary, the community participation at the Mayor’s Challenge was way beyond expectations. Over 250 local dignitaries from both Boca Raton and Delray Beach enjoyed the evening cheering on their favorite Mayor in the first annual Mayoral Bar-tending Challenge.
There was barely standing room.
Mayor McDuffie playing on home turf quickly found himself swamped by the invaders from Boca Raton. It seems that the Boca Raton challenger, Mayor Susan Whelchel had waged a serious email blitz to all of her friends (and she has thousands) and the Chamber of Commerce helped fill the house with the Boca faithful. Very little room was left at the bar for the hometown folks thought Mayor McDuffie gave it his best.
After two great hours of fun and celebration, the large containers for gratuities were counted.
Final Results: the visitors from Boca had raised $3454.38 for the literacy and children’s projects of the Boca Raton Sunrise Rotary Club and the home town folks $1055.18 for the Rotary Club of Delray Beach. A fine sum, but second place.
Many patrons also joined in the festivities and both clubs were busy recruiting new members from the throng of visitors. Even County Commissioner Steven Abrams was found in the crowd cheering for both mayors as he has both communities in his district. Organizer PDG Betsy Owen was one busy lady seeing that everything was in place and kept things moving. The participation of all Rotary Clubs in both Boca and Delray is a great example of Rotarians helping Rotarians one more time.
Mayor Susan Whelchel was presented with the first trophy for the event and said she “looks forward to a return match in Boca Raton next year.”
Mayor McDuffie quickly accepted the challenge for a return match and promised to hire all Tri-Rail Trains for the trip to Boca Raton.
A fantastic night and Rotary is proud of both Clubs for their hard work in bringing this new event in with great results.
Boca Raton Sunrise $3454.38
Delray Beach $1055.18