As about 335 people reminisced and greeted old friends, Highland Park Hospital’s 25th Ravinia Benefit last weekend seemed more like a reunion than a fundraiser.
That’s not to say money was not important. The event raised about $70,000 for the hospital’s programs and services this year.
“It has raised more than $1 million over the 25 years. Can you believe it?” said Ronald Spaeth, hospital president and CEO. “And the community loves it. It ties the hospital to the community.”
“It’s a tradition,” said Fern Canmann of Highland Park. She and Neuman “Red” Fell were talking about how far back the four Fell brothers (Fred and Red and the late Abe and Jake) and the three Canmann boys (Mark, Harry and David) went. They figured it was more than seven decades because Fern’s husband, David, now 80, moved to town in 1919, about six years after the Fell clothing store opened. Fell said, “You see a lot of old friends here. It’s nice.”
The Canmann brothers talked about how they used to spend summers as teenagers selling and taking tickets and ushering at Ravinia. “We all worked here in the olden days,” David said.
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Mary Slepyan, whose husband, Albert, is a longtime Highland Park dermatologist, remembered a snafu from the hospital’s first Ravinia benefit, which she chaired.
“The North Shore Garden Club provided us with lovely wildflowers for our centerpieces. Halfway through the dinner, everyone started sneezing,” Slepyan explained.
This year’s chairwoman, Carlyne Weil of Highland Park, thought everything was running smoothly, including the weather. And Weil, who has a reputation for bringing clear skies to any function she attends, was happy to take credit for having an “in” with nature. “People I don’t know ask me to their functions. Well, I didn’t flunk tonight,” she said, nodding toward the blue heavens.