Patchogue Theatre 2015 Annual Gala Featured Celebrated Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan, Saturday, April 25

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LONG ISLAND, NY – A full night was planned for a group of ticket holders at the Gala level, which included sound check in the balcony, a cocktail party backstage and a dessert reception in the lobby with a chance to mingle with Celebrity Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan at the Annual Fundraiser Gala for the Patchogue Theatre in Patchogue NY on Saturday April 25, 2015.

Irish tenor, recording artist, physician and champion disabled athlete Ronan Tynan moves audiences like few others can. His stirring performances and personal story of triumph have brought him international fame. The New York Times called him “the closest thing this country has to an official Meistersinger.”

Patchogue Theatre Gala Orlando Pena, Cognac and Bernie Fabig at the Patchogue Theatre Gala, Saturday April 25, 2015.

Celebrity Irish Tenor Dr. Ronan Tynan and Singer Rebecca Farley at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts Gala in Patchogue, Long Island.

Tynan has performed at historic events including Ronald Reagan’s funeral and the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral. His memorable renditions of “God Bless America” have been heard at the World Series, The Belmont Stakes and other momentous events. Dr. Ronan Tynan returned to Patchogue Theatre for the performing arts venue’s annual gala fundraiser event. All proceeds directly benefit programming at Patchogue Theatre.

I had the special opportunity before his performance to interview Dr. Tynan. Below is our interview:

Welcome back darlings. I am here at the Patchogue Theatre Gala with Celebrity Irish Tenor Dr. Ronan Tynan.

Ronan: How are you?

What a pleasure to be here with you!

Ronan: Yes and with you. You look tremendous!

Yes. Tell my audience darling about his event tonight. This evening what can we expect and what is it really all about?

Ronan: Well this is the gala that Patchogue Theatre puts on every year and Clara this year asked me would I do the gala and I normally sing in February for them which for me I have a great troupe of fans that come out every February and she asked me if I would do the gala and I said “Sure.” So she said “Can we put in different types of music,” and I said “Yea, we can do that.” and in the process of thinking about it, I decided maybe we should do something a little different. We should put in some Broadway, some stuff I would kind of encourage that is different. Naturally I would want to sing some Irish but it’s not all Irish by any matter of means. We will sing the big Irish numbers but I want to do some Broadway, some opera and contemporary.

 You sing so beautifully. Really!! How many years have you been singing?

Ronan: Since I was thirty-three. I started my life as a medical doctor.

Really? I noticed that. I read you were a doctor but I wasn’t sure you were a doctor because you studied.

Ronan: Music? No, no

So, you really are a medical doctor. What kind of medicine do you practice?

Ronan: I specialize in orthopedic sports injuries.

Oh my goodness, which brings me to my next question. You were born with a disability?

Ronan: That’s right.

Tell my audience what that disability is.

Ronan: Well I was born with a disability called phocomelia which basically means failure of the lower limbs to develop properly and both feet were split but I was very blessed. I had two amazing parents who kind of directed me in the sense of not self pity and striving for what I could achieve. I had a mother that was forfeit, so driven that I sometimes think there are no adjectives that could describe her. I had a father that adored mo to death!

She didn’t want you to feel sorry for yourself.

Ronan: Absolutely not, but I mean she loved the idea, the fact that I became a doctor. She wasn’t so sure about the singing. She believed singing was a no vocation not a vocation.

I came from a very strict old fashion Italian family and they didn’t believe in show business. It was like get married, have babies and forget about this.

Ronan: You know I think parents invest in their children. They want the fruit of the work or the education to show and their son decides “OK, I am going singing,” that is a bit of a shock but my father loved the idea. Mom , I am not so sure.

Tell my audience out of all your performances, did you have a specific performance that you found was the most challenging?

Ronan: I think one of the biggest challenges I have ever had was to sing at the Reagan Funeral.

Really?

Ronan: I was the only soloist there. We had been in the cathedral from 5:30 in the morning and I didn’t sing until 11:00 so I didn’t even have a chance to warm up. It was fairly challenging.

Really, but you toured all over the world….

Ronan: I have but I mean, I don’t think your ready for something as big as that with an audience of forty-nine million.

Forty-nine million! Oh my God!

Ronan: Thirty-nine presidents and top people from all over the world attended this man’s funeral so it was a big deal.

I am sure it was. You are going on to do more things. Can you tell my audience where your next tour is going to be.

Ronan: Well I kind of are in the middle of a lot of stuff. I also teach in the University in Kentucky at two semesters every year. I am getting ready to do two more albums. I am kind of in the middle of tour at the moment in the sense of eight dates in the next three weeks and I suppose that’s really a tour in itself.

Tell my audience where we can go to find out more information about you. What is your website?

Ronan: My website is http://ronantynan.net It’s filled up with every old performances plus extra stuff. So anyone that want to contact me can contact me through the website, there is no problem.

Dr. Tynan also treated the audience to a surprise performance of one of his students singing, Rebecca Farley. The talented Ms. Farley really stole the show and captivated the audience with many songs including her rendition of “The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music.”

During my interview with Ms. Farley, she revealed “About five years ago I had my first lesson with him and he really encouraged me to let me realize my own potential and we stayed connected through the years. I am very happy to share this performance with him tonight.”

PatchogueTheatreGala12 Robert Loscalzo and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ponteri at the Patchogue Theatre Gala, Saturday April 25, 2015.

PatchogueTheatreGala123 Patchogue Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce David Kennedy and Cognac at the Patchogue Theatre Gala, Saturday April 25, 2015.

PatchogueTheatreGala1234 Mayor Paul Ponteri of the Village of Patchogue and Cognac at the Patchogue Theatre Gala, Saturday April 25, 2015.

The Patchogue Theatre Gala is an annual fundraiser event to benefit future programming at Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts (PTPA). Also known as The Patchogue Village Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts has been organized under and by virtue of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in order to manage Patchogue Theatre in the public interest. Patchogue Theatre is the largest theatre in Suffolk County, N.Y. with 1,162 seats.

Sponsor for the event included: TRITEC Real Estate Company, JVC Broadcasting, Clare Rose / Stella Artois, BBS Architects & Engineers and Tires Inc.

For more information please visit http://www.patchoguetheatre.org

New Yorkers Gather for Mitzi Perdue Book Signing; Late Husband, Frank Perdue “Tough Man, Tender Chicken”

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NEW YORK, NY – Lorraine Cancro Silvetz, Sara Herbert-Galloway and Daniela Zahradnikova hosted a special evening of cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres to celebrate the book signing of Mitzi Perdue’s “Tough Man, Tender Chicken.”

All proceeds went to ICAMI’s Global Stress Initiative and the J. Luce Foundation. Guests gathered at SPACE SIXTEEN SOHO, 311 West Broadway between 6pm and 8pm on Monday April 20th for the event.

Mitzi Perdue, wife of the late Frank Perdue, earned degrees from Harvard University and George Washington University. As a former rice grower, and syndicated columnist, television and radio host, she frequently gives inspirational talks, encouraging people (particularly young people) to be all they can be.

Mitzi Perdue  Mitzi Perdue, wife of the late Frank Perdue, and Cognac at SPACE SIXTEEN SOHO, 311 West Broadway on Monday April 20th.

During the event we sat down and talked about her amazing life with her late husband Frank, Perdue.

Welcome back darlings, I am here with the fabulous author, Mitzi Perdue and she wrote a fascinating book about her husband Frank Perdue “Tough Man, Tender Chicken.” Tell my audience what inspired you to write this very provocative book?

Mitzi: Thank you so much. What really got me to write it was it occurred to me looking back on Frank’s life that what he really was, was a teacher. He built a company when it started with him and 2,000 people. By the time of his passing nineteen thousand people worked for Perdue Farms and how do you get that many people to work together and that well. I think that he was a teacher and I decided to write the book because I thought there was so much wisdom in how he went about growing that company.

He was a tough man wasn’t he, not with you though I bet he treated you like a princess, I am sure!

Mitzi: Well you know the funny thing is people would always tell me, “You must be a tough cookie to stand up to Frank Perdue.” But in fact he just treated me like with kid gloves. He was always kind to me. I think he had a great ability to adjust how he treated people according to who they are. I don’t have any backbone at all so we worked just great.

I grew up with your husband. I use to watch television. I was glued to the TV set. I would always watch all my major prime time programs on TV and I would always see your husband’s commercial about Perdue Chicken. How it was the best chicken. Of course we ate Perdue. Your chicken is the best chicken for the world to eat.

Mitzi: Your my kind of woman! I love you dearly!

The company is still under your name. Are you on the top of all this?

Mitzi: The family is. It’s a family owned business. Yes the family runs it.

That’s wonderful. That’s truly truly wonderful that you kept it in the family. Are you running it or do you have a son or daughter running it?

Mitzi: Jim Perdue is the one who runs it now. I think it’s five members of the fourth generation working in the company. Jim is third generation.

Third generation. I see.

Mitzi: The third generation Jim Perdue and there is four of the fourth generation running it and that’s kind of exciting because how many companies go four generations.

Not that many. People somehow mess it all up. The children and the siblings they’re always fighting, no one can agree but I am happy to hear that the company still is going on in the fourth generation and it’s prosperous. It still is the best chicken out there.

Mitzi: You wouldn’t believe how hard we work to make it the best. In fact allow me to boast. We are all friends right?

Absolutely!

Mitzi: One of the advantages of being a family owned company is that we don’t have to worry about each quarter and what the stockholders are going to say. So we were able to invest for twelve years in something that wasn’t a payoff deal until it was a payoff. We have learned how to produce chickens without antibiotics. Our chickens are antibiotic free.

That’s wonderful!

Mitzi: But it took twelve years to get it there.

I can imagine.

Mitzi: Well because the fact is anybody can grow chicken without antibiotics the only trouble is they die. So it took a lot of learning how to produce really healthy chickens without antibiotic and we did it. Yay!!!

So you are the pioneers of organic really. You are the pioneers of organic food. Organic chicken, fresh healthy without chemicals, without any kid of antibiotic and that is probably why people from that generation lived so long. My grandmother lived to be in the ninety’s because she at Perdue Chicken.

Mitzi: Yay!!!!

Tell my audience what your life was like with Frank Perdue. Was it a glamorous life? I probably have to read the book to find out.

Mitzi: I am going to agree with you. It was amazingly glamorous.

I am sure. You must have got into every restaurant, every night club, was able to see every celebrity you could imagine. Am I right about that?

Mitzi: Well A your right. There is a PS to it. Frank really, really enjoyed living in his community being close to the charities he cared about. So he was a mixed person. He was very good with celebrities. He was also good with his close friends and he was a very unassuming man. It surprises people to know that a company that large, Frank Perdue would travel economy class. we would use the subways regularly.

How funny!

Mitzi: So there was plenty of glamor, I loved it! But there was plenty of being down to earth.

Mitzi went on to say how much she still misses her late husband, Frank Perdue and that Johnny Carson was a good friend of his. Mitzi also revealed, “There was nobody like him, he had it all. He was a successful businessman, he had a loving family and he was close to his community so how many people have it all like that.”

MitziPerdue1 Sara Herbert Galloway, Cognac Wellerlane and Co-Creater of Space Sixteen Daniela Zahradnikova at SPACE SIXTEEN SOHO, 311 West Broadway on Monday April 20th.

MitziPerdue2 Jim Luce, Cognac Wellerlane and Actress Kelly Le Brock at SPACE SIXTEEN SOHO, 311 West Broadway on Monday April 20th.

MitziPerdue3 Co-Creater of Space Sixteen Daniela Zahradnikova, author Mitzi Perdue, Sara Herbert Galloway and Lorraine Cancro-Silvetz at SPACE SIXTEEN SOHO, 311 West Broadway on Monday April 20th.

Frank Perdue was the quintessential entrepreneur, marketer, and businessman, a man whose life lessons are applicable to anyone searching for inspiration and encouragement. To write this book, Perdue’s wife Mitzi interviewed nearly 140 people, seeking to understand every aspect of the man behind the tremendously successful corporation.

For more information how you can obtain “Touch Man, Tender Chicken” please visit http://frankperduebook.com

“New York Tent” Presents Concert and Cocktails; 2015: Event-Season’s Biggest Kickoff Spectacular

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LONG ISLAND, NY – New York Tent and IDEKO Productions Presented “Concert and Cocktails” 2015, Event Season’s Biggest Kickoff Spectacular on April 14, 2015 from 6 to 8 pm. Guests walked through the red carpet into New York Tent’s newly designed location to experience the ultimate party destination. This VIP only event featured a private concert by the famed Blues Traveler and The Movin Out Band with cocktails and h’orderves provided by Sterling Affair Caterers. While on the ground of New York tent’s finest location, guests mixed, mingled, and enjoyed the opportunity to network with Long Island’s most elite.

Sponsors included “Please B. Seated” providing all of New York Tent’s rental needs. The event brought together New York City and Long Island’s top businesses, event planners, producers, designers, caterers and elite to enjoy this fabulous event. Each tenting concept is a unique vision, carefully planned and assembled. At New York Tent, they understand the complexities of organizing and producing spectacular events. Attention to detail, technical know-how, skilled assemblers, and quality materials allow the company to achieve, and exceed their clients’ expectations each and every time.

Untitled-1 David Tannenbaum, CEO of New York Tent at Concert and Cocktails; 2015: Event-Season’s Biggest Kickoff Spectacular with Cognac Wellerlane April 14, 2015

New York Tent has been producing sensational tented affairs since 1994, operating out of a 60,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility. From world class sporting events such as the NYC Marathon and large music festivals, to corporate galas, weddings and intimate parties, New York Tent services customers’ needs with hands-on planning and a sophisticated design sense that is key to executing every event with flawless precision.

Each tenting concept is a unique vision, carefully planned and assembled out of a 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, which boasts a world-class washroom including a tent washing machine, water softening system and a 4th of its kind tent dryer. Led by CEO David Tannenbaum, who recently can on board, New York Tent has experienced explosive growth over the last two years garnering some of the largest investment in inventory the company has ever seen.

At the event I had the pleasure to talk to David Tannenbaum. CEO at New York Tent. Below is our interview.

Cognac interviews David Tannenbaum. CEO and Publicist Michael Mazzella from www.wunderlichinc.com at the New York Tent’s customer appreciation event season kickoff spectacular in Long Island on the 14th. The event will include over 600 of Long Island’s top event producers, investors, entrepreneurs, and editors from all the weeklies and top luxury glossy publications in New York City. They will enjoy a private VIP concert by the famed 90s Blues Traveler Band and the Movin’ Out Band.

Welcome back darlings, I am Cognac Wellerlane and I am here with the new CEO of NY Tent. Introduce yourself to the camera.

David: I am David Tannenbaum with NY Tent and we are having a fun-filled night here under some new tents that we brought in for the upcoming season and just happy to have our clients here to see what we can offer.

Tell my audience a little bit more about this event that is taking place right now. You are having two special bands that will be performing.

David: Sure. We have the Movin’ Out Band. Billy Joel Tribute was on Broadway playing a show “Movin Out” for quite a while and the headliner is Blues Traveler who just dropped a new album on Tuesday. We are excited to have them here and give our guests a good time.

This is an amazing thing that you guys are doing. You have this every year. Now you are new on the board. When did you start with the company?

David: I started and was brought in to give some new life into the company, bring in some new inventory, reach out to a new market and this is a great way to intro that and show that we have been around for twenty years. We are reinventing ourselves and everything we have to offer.

You have a lot of interesting people here tonight. A lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of business people. How many people are actually attending this event tonight? Do you know?

David: In the end about seven hundred people.

Seven hundred people, Wow! And you do this every year?

David: Yea, we were doing it every other year for a while. From the success of what it looks like we are having this year, this most certainly will become a yearly event.

Wow! I am sure you have a lot of great ideas that you want to see take place here for NY Tent. Can you tell my audience some of the things you might be planning in the future for this company.

David: Sure, we have some great new inventory. The tent that we are having this event is called the Arcum. It’s something nobody else in our area has. It’s in other parts of the country in other areas. We have a lot of new chairs and a lot of new liners and a lot new kinds of elements to existing tents that really separate us from the competition. We show people it’s not just a plain old white tent anymore. There is more you can do with it!

Do you have any significant clients, any celebrity clients that my audience should know about?

David: We do. Most of the time we sign non-disclosure agreements to protect their identities and what we do for them. That is why I can’t name drop but we do a tremendous amount of work in the Hamptons and in the city and surrounding areas doing a lot of celebrity wedding, anniversary parties.

Charity parties.

David: Charity as well. Tremendous amount of charity, you know and special events for raising money. We are always happy to be a part of those events. It is a good cause, we get to be involved and do what we do.

Terrific! If we want to find out more information about NY Tent where can we go? What is the website?

David: Sure, the website is http://www.nytent.com. You can also call us anytime and we are here to help.

NYTentPublicistMichaelMazze Publicist Michael Mazzella from Wunderlich Inc. PR who invited me to the event. In our interview Michael revealed ‘Why rent a location when you can build one anywhere.’

I also had the opportunity to interview Publicist Michael Mazzella from Wunderlich Inc. PR who invited me to the event. In our interview Michael revealed “The importance is about events. The event we are having tonight is about event season kickoff! You know in the Summer there is a lot of events in New York and the Hamptons. It’s all about event season. As you can see the tent that we are under is quadruple the size of my apartment at least! It’s enormous. They have curve tents, they have metal tents, the one that we are sitting in now can hold up to tens of thousands of people and you know in New York and the Hamptons it’s all about the outdoor Summer Party and NY Tent is the perfect place to have your venue. Why rent a location when you can build it anywhere.

Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman Puts The Passion Into His Dishes at Lovecraft Restaurant in the East Village

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NEW YORK, NY – The city has plenty of restaurants that offer exceptional dining, however, there is something captivating and special about the Lovecraft Bar that has patrons coming back for more. Created in honor of legendary American Author, H.P. Lovecraft, this horror-themed bar has been inspired and modeled after his literary works. The restaurant serves a variety of drinks that include infused cocktails, a large selection of beers, and scrumptious eats. Lovecraft Bar NYC has a laid-back atmosphere that New Yorkers can’t seem to get enough of.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman over cocktails and dinner as he explained his passion for cooking and all things related to food.

Lovecraft NYC Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman Lovecraft NYC Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman with Cognac Wellerlane. Coleman sits with Cognac over cocktails and dinner as he explains his passion for cooking and all things ‘yummy’.

Welcome back darlings! I am Cognac Wellerlane and I am here at this fabulous eatery located in lower Manhattan right here on Avenue B, Lovecraft, and I am here with Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman. He has prepared wonderful appetizers for us and I am very, very interested in what he has to say about these gorgeous appetizers and what went into creating these innovative dishes. It is a pleasure to see you again. The last time we met was/

Chris: At the Carlyle Hotel.

Tell my audience how you became the Executive Celebrity Chef here at Lovecraft.

Chris: First of all my name is Chris and the way I became the celebrity chef down here at Lovecraft; Anthony the owner and I go way, way back. Anthony is one of the owners. We met a few years ago in the Hamptons.

The Hamptons, my favorite spot in the whole wide world. Where did you meet Anthony in the Hamptons?

Chris: Me and Anthony actually met in Montauk at the Point Bar. We have built a camaraderie and friendship for a long time and he was intending to open up a restaurant in the Hamptons a few times and it didn’t happen for whatever reasons. He kept my number but we lost contact for a while. Then one day, I would say six, seven months ago he text me, “Chris are you there? Is this still your number?” I said “Sure” and I said “Who is this?” And he said “Anthony, do you remember we met in the Hamptons.” So I said “Sure” so he went on to say “I am in the process of opening a new restaurant and I am looking for a chef and I know you are very talented. I think I am interested in having you come to the restaurant, let’s meet and we will talk about it.”

And bingo! You are here.

Chris: Yes, I am here and I actually have another great chef behind me (Dine Tidjani), a good friend of mine who has been with me for at least five years. He was the head chef at Gurneys with me.

At Gurneys, Really? I love those people. They sold the business.

Chris: Yes, I was the head chef there last year. I decided to leave because I am in love with the city. This the place where it could make you or break you, New York City.

That’s right. It will either make you or break you! But you look like you haven’t broken yet. Look at these dishes that you created for us. Tell my audience what we are seeing here.

Chris: We have Chesapeake Bake Maryland Crab Cakes. A little bit of onion down here, celery, red tomatoes, part of the food is a vision, visual. All of this is marinated. I love flavor. I like the execution. I treat my food very respectively. I like the people to see the passion and the tasting style that I bring to my food and what I do. I love food!

And you want your patrons to love what you have prepared. Tell my audience about this dish. It looks amazing!

Chris: What we have down here is Prince Edwards Island Mussels. I try to do this different then way a lot of people do it around here. I do this with coconut curry sauce.

Coconut curry sauce, wow!

Chris: So we go down to the West Indies over here. It has a slight kick to it!

Sounds sexy!

Chris: I don’t know what that means!

Yes, it looks delicious! I can’t wait to eat this. The way you prepare food it is just unbelievable. So tell me more about the ingredients.

Chris: We have clam juice. When I clean my fish I reduce the salmon carcass. I use all the goodness that comes out of the carcass of the fish.

Tremendous! What is this, is it lobster?

Chris: Just mussels but the way it has been prepared the flavor, the passion that I put into it. You have to remember if you don’t cook with love and passion your food will never taste good, bottom line you have to have passion!

Tell my audience about the signature dishes here. What do people from all over, tourist and the people that live here, what are the signature entrees?

Chris: I like to give my customers top quality produce. We have down here nice grilled skirt steak.

My husband is going to try the steak.

Chris: The steak is like you are eating butter! It basically melts in your mouth. A lot of people out there want to save a dollar. They don’t use top quality; me, I rather use top quality. I want every customer that comes here, I want them to say “Wow, this is amazing!” There are over 20,000 restaurants in New York so why would they want to come to this place. I want to give that to my customers.

What is the signature seafood here at the restaurant?

Chris: Crab cakes is one of them as you can see over here. I also have nice tuna tar tare. There is only one other place that makes it the way I make it.

What about the salmon. I see you make Grilled Salmon.

Chris: It’s Wild Salmon, off the hook! The way I do it is I put it on a saute pan very, very hot. I make sure the skin gets very, very crispy. Then I put it on the grill and then I finish it in the oven. Three ways of cooking, sauteing, grilling and baking.

Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman has prepared excellent meals for many A-listers including Leonardo Di Caprio, 50 Cent, Mel B the Spice Girl, Kate Hudson and Russell Simmons. For more information about Chris please visit http://www.colemancooking.com and to find mind out more information about Lovecraft restaurant please visit http://lovecraftnyc.com

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman at LOVECRAFT NYC Restaurant located at 50 Avenue B, New York, NY in Lower Manhattan

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Chef Dine Tidjani at LOVECRAFT NYC Restaurant located at 50 Avenue B, New York, NY in Lower Manhattan

Cloud Nine Exotics Showcases Their Unique Driving Experience at the New York International Auto Show

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NEW YORK, NY – Each year the New York International Auto Show test the limits of modern technology with some of the most innovative cars, trucks and luxury vehicles. This year the show was held at the Jacob Javits Center from April 3rd through April 12, 2015.

During the event I had the opportunity to interview Director of Operations Mike Pytlar from Cloud Nine Exotics. Cloud Nine Exotics is a driving experience company in the Northeast. They do events on race tracks, parking lots and public roads.

LAMBORGINICloud Nine Exotics showcases their unique driving experience company in the Northeast at the New York International Auto Show.

Gigi Neil Michael PytlarModel Gigi Neil, Director of Operations Michael Pytlar from Cloud Nine Exotics and Cognac Wellerlane at the New York International Auto Show.

Below is our interview:

Welcome back darlings, I am Cognac Wellerlane and I am here at the New York International Auto Show and I am here in this fabulous booth. It’s all about Cloud Nine Exotics. All the beautiful exotic cars that we are seeing. I am standing in front of a beautiful bright yellow Lamborghini and on the far right is a beautiful Ferrari. I am here with Mike and he is going to introduce himself to the camera.

Mike: How is going folks. I am Mike Pytlar, Director of Operations here at Cloud Nine Exotics.

Tell my audience about this whole line of exotic cars that you are featuring here at the New York International Auto Show.

Mike: We do different types of driving experiences whether you are testing driving in a parking lot, race track, on public roads that is what we are here to do, to provide the average gentleman here to have an opportunity to drive one of these beautiful cars.

Really, tell me my audience how that works.

Mike: It could be as cheap as $99 bucks. Our experiences go up to $749.00

$749.00!

Mike: You get behind the wheel of all five of these cars

And how long can you drive the vehicles?

Mike: For something like $749.00 you would get to do what is called the Paradise Cruise. You would come out to our facility in Farmingdale, New York and we would leave and go out to the Hamptons.

Oh nice!

Mike: Basically, me and you would go out together, we would drive the Lamborghini for twenty miles and then we would swap with the other four random couples that would be with us and then we get in the Porsche and we go do twenty miles in the Porsche. Then we go to the next pit stop with the GTR, the Bentley and the Ferrari. We would do a total of one hundred miles of driving on the Paradise Cruise.

So that is the ultimate deal. The Paradise Cruise?

Mike: That’s it yes and then we can do the $99.00 thing. We do it at Nassau Coliseum and we do it at the Pennysaver Amputheater both of which are located out on the Island.

Now why do people want to do this? What is so special about driving a Lamborghini or a Ferrari?

Mike: You tell me

Well I don’t know about me driving this car. I know I look good in front of the car.

Mike: So if you don’t want to drive it a professional like myself or like Josh in the back, one us can drive you and those are same prices obviously because actually we put more wear and tear on the vehicles.

I would be afraid to drive this car honestly. I would prefer a gentleman like you to drive me around.

Mike: I can certainly do that. I can give you the ride of your life!

Let me ask you something, would you drive a millionaire couple in a car like this to an event, there are so many red carpet events in the Hamptons.

Mike: We do all sorts of VIP connoisseur services. We do bachelor parties, we do all that type of stuff. What we say “We can do anything that you put your mind on to except drive in outer space.”

That’s next.

Mike: That’s next!

How long have you been working for Cloud Nine Exotics and why did you get involved in this?

Mike: I have been in the exotic car business my whole professional career. I am a young guy. This company was started about three months ago. It’s a relatively new company. I personally serviced about 80,000 people doing the same experiences.

FERRARI A guest, Michael Wellbrock, gets a taste of the Cloud Nine Exotics Ferrari at the New York International Auto Show.

MichaelPytlarDirector of Operations Michael Pytlar from Cloud Nine Exotics and Cognac Wellerlane at the New York International Auto Show.

PORCHECloud Nine Exotics showcases their unique driving experience company in the Northeast at the New York International Auto Show.

Mike discussed more about the amenities of each of the cars and he revealed that the Porsche Turbo S was his favorite vehicle in the booth and the fastest! During our interview Mike indicated, “The responses are overwhelming. During the week we have collected close to 10,000 emails so far here at the auto show. That’s great because obviously these are all of our potential clients. We want to get them behind the wheel and have everyone experience a smile on their face. It is a great event something that you have to try once and once you try it once you are going to keep coming back and we want to provide that expectation obviously with these cars. People expect a certain level at these events and that is what we are here to do set the benchmark in this industry.”

To find out more information please visit http://cloud9exotics.com

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Model Gigi Neil and Director of Operations Michael Pytlar of Cloud Nine Exotics at the New York Auto Show.

Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception Hosted by Jean Shafiroff at Madame Paulette

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NEW YORK, NY – It was an evening of fashion and cocktails at the cleaners, this could only happen on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan.  Philanthropist and Socialite Jean Shafiroff hosted the elegant fashion event at Madame Paulette located at 1255 Second Avenue to members of the press, celebrities and socialites for an exclusive showing of Fashion Designer Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 collection.

Fashion Designer Victor de Souza was born into a Portuguese family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was first introduced to fashion through his grandmother’s closet, which was filled with an elegant collection by designers such as Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel and Schiaparelli. Seduced by the tapered silhouettes, brilliant hues and rich fabrics, de Souza knew at an early age that design was in his future.

Victor de Souza Victor de Souza, Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan, Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Fashion Designer Victor de Souza, Socialite Joy Marks and Owner of Madame Paulette’s John Mahdessian at the Cocktail Reception for Victor de Souza Fall 2015 Collection at Madame Paulette’s

I spoke to Victor about his collection, Madame Paulette and of course, fashion. Here is what he had to say:

We are here at Madame Paulette located at 1255 Second Avenue and I am here with the fabulous Designer Victor de Souza and he is going to tell us what the inspiration is for his Fall 2015 Collection.

Victor: My idea for the collection was a little piece from every part of the world but in a very smart way. I wanted it to be very wearable and very interesting. For me lately the challenge is how to make something that doesn’t look like somebody else because everybody copies each other.

Yes, I know I was at Fashion Week and everyone had the same design, the same color scheme, it was just getting out of hand. Now your showing this collection and it was not at Fashion Week. Did you do that deliberately?

Victor: I bought an apartment, ha, ha, ha, ……

I can understand that. So tell my audience how many pieces are in this collection?

Victor: Twenty-five pieces.

How many pieces are we seeing here tonight?

Victor: Tonight we have nineteen mannequins, nineteen outfits.

Nineteen outfits, nineteen ensembles!

Victor: The total collection is twenty-five.

How fabulous! Tell my audience why did you decide to have Jean Shafiroff host this event tonight at Madame Paulette? What was it about Madame Paulette that you wanted to do it here?

Victor: Well first I think Madame Paulette is an institution. So many of my gowns are stored at Madame Paulette. We always have had a connection. We have been planning this for years. We use to say ,”One day we should do a cocktail, we should do the windows.” We have been planning this forever. It happened that this was the evening.

This place is absolutely beautiful. Do you know the history behind Madame Paulette?

Victor: I think it’s about fifty years old. They specialize in high end couture. They do tailoring, They do storage. They are great. I love John the owner.

Yes, Is he going to be here tonight?

Victor: Yes he will be here.

Tell my audience where they are located.

Victor: 1255 Second Avenue.

Tell my audience where we can go to find out more information. What is your website darling?

Victor: www.victordesouzany.com

I also had the chance to speak to the Owner John Mahdessian

We are here at Madame Paulette located at 1255 Second Avenue and I am here with the owner. Introduce yourself to the camera.

John: Hi, my name is John Mahdessian and I am the owner of Madame Paulette.

Tell my audience a little bit about the history of Madame Paulette.

John: Madame Paulette is a third generation, fifty-five year old family business. We are true leaders and pioneers in the field of cleaning and restoring all types of couture designer apparel, museum collectibles and home interior furnishings.

Now this establishment has been around for many, many years. Is your family the original owners?

John: Yes, the story is my dad’s uncle’s wife, her name was Madame Paulette

She was French…

John: Yes, she was French. She was a couturier.

And a launderer. I would think because back in the day they called them launderers.

John: Exactly and for her personal needs on the upper east side, my uncle said “Honey I am going to open up a cleaning establishment so we can take care of your beautiful collection so you don’t have to bring it back to Paris.” Then my dad opened up the business with his uncle and then his uncle unfortunately got sick and passed away and he took over the business for Madame Paulette and then she eventually went back to Paris and then that is how it came into the family.

Now laundering garments goes back to the times of Marie Antoinette?

John: Oh sure. Yeah, they figured out dry cleaning when there was an accident. Kerosene fell on a dirty piece of silk and when the kerosene was on the silk it got cleaner. Basically the kerosene removed the dirt particles and the stains. That is how they invented the dry cleaning process.

Oh my goodness, how fascinating; a piece of information I know my audience is going to love, a little bit of history. Tell my audience why did you decide to host this party?

John: Victor is an amazing designer. We love him. We love his collection. We have been maintaining his collection for many years and what a better venue then to have it here where we have an audience of the biggest fashionistas of the world.

Tell my audience where we can go to find out more information. What is the website?

John: www.madamepaulette.com

During the event while interviewing Socialite Joy Marks, Joy revealed, “For the last four years I am wearing Victor de Souza almost exclusively. I love him, I love his clothes. His clothing, I call them my jewels, my gems!”

Jean Shafiroff Jean Shafiroff at Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan, Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

Jane Pontarelli Adele Nino LeeF Jane Pontarelli, Adele Nino, Lee Fryd at Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan, Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

The world of fashion, past present and future, will always consist of sophisticated tailoring that include fine and delicate fabrics, intricate beading, appliqués, embroidery, and other fragile hand craftsmanship that requires expert care and handling. This is why Madame Paulette is the custom couture cleaner of choice around the world.

Katlean DeMonchy Joy Marks Luci Katlean De Monchy, Joy Marks, Lucia Hwong Gordon at Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan, Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

John Mahdessian RitaCosby Bill John Mahdessian, Rita Cosby, Bill Lee Lanndis, Cognac Wellerlane and Lucia Hwong Gordon at Victor de Souza’s Fall 2015 Collection Cocktail Reception on the trendy upper east side of Manhattan, Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

There is simply no other resource that can boast the wealth of knowledge that Madame Paulette has. Whether for evening, business or casual attire, or something as special as your wedding gown, Madame Paulette will always be the most trusted name to rely upon when faced with any garment question that may be causing you uncertainty. This is precisely why the most reputable designers and retail establishments around the world choose to recommend Madame Paulette to their own valued clientele.

Their dedication to their clients and John Mahdessian’s own personal vision for the company has developed Madame Paulette’s client roster into a “Who’s Who” of the fashion, bridal, and entertainment worlds. Apparel houses such as Hermes, Carolina Herrera, and Vera Wang; corporations including Bergdorf Goodman and Trump International Hotel and Tower; and high profile clients including Anna Wintour, Kelly Ripa, Barbara Walters, and Sting, all depend on Madame Paulette for superb care of their garments and Interior home textiles.

Bailey Houses Gala Auction at Chelsea Piers; Helping Transform Lives of People with HIV/AIDS, Other Illnesses

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LONG ISLAND, NY – On Thursday March 26, 2015 Bailey Houses Gala and Auction was held at Pier 60 of Chelsea Piers. The Gala honored the heroism of individuals and organizations that assists the Bailey House’s mission of transforming the lives of people with or at risk of HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses through housing, health services and community.

During the event I was happy to interview the cast of B.O.R.N. To Style. Cast members Brandon Hood and Devin Stokes spoke to me about their meaningful contribution towards the Bailey House.

BaileyHouseCognacposes Bailey House, Cognac poses with the cast of B.O.R.N. To Style, Thursday March 26, 2015 at Pier 60 of Chelsea Piers.

BaileyHouseBornStye

Welcome back darlings, I am Cognac Wellerlane and we are here at the Bailey House Auction and this is a fabulous event with so many items being auctioned off and all for a very good cause. I am here with two big supporters who are auctioning off something very important and they are celebs and they are going to talk about who they are and what they are auctioning off. Introduce yourselves to the camera.

Devin: Well my name is Devin Stokes of B.O.R.N. To Style.

Brandon: And I am Brandon Hood from B.O.R.N. to Style

B.O.R.N. to Style, Tell my audience what that is all about.

Devin: B.O.R.N. to Style is a makeover show

A makeover TV show

Devin: Yes. It’s a TV show on FYI. B.O.R.N. stands for Borrowed, Old, Refurbished and New. We are just giving women the drama of the past into today. We give them a whole lifestyle makeover.

Brandon: It’s about Jonathan and his fabulous store in Harlem. He has a vintage boutique. He specializes in vintage. We makeover women. We uplift them. It’s retail therapy. It’s a dysfunctional family fashion wise.

Devin: It’s more than just a makeover series. I feel it is a lifestyle makeover series. A lot of the women we deal with are going through changes in their life and we are trying to incorporate that change into their everyday life.

Both Devin and Brandon spoke about their store’s contribution to the Bailey House Auction and Gala.

I understand that you have a very significant item that you are auctioning off tonight right here at the Bailey House. Tell my audience what that is all about.

Brandon: We are auctioning off a $250 gift certificate for the B.O.R.N. Boutique at 57 East 125 Street between Madison and Park. Also what comes with that is a style makeover by yours truly, Jonathan, Kristen, Jay, Devin and myself so that is going to be like bananas within itself.

Why do you love the Bailey House so much? Tell my audience what is so spectacular about this organization.

Devin: Well as a young gay man, Bailey House really caters to those who are effected by HIV and being part of that stereotype, it’s very helpful to know that people are helping those as opposed to criticizing them and that is a cause that I can stand up to.

Brandon: Absolutely, this is something that is in the community and what stops us is the un-education of what is going on with HIV and AIDS. So I appreciate the Bailey House to support and donate the items to be auctioned.

To find out more about B.O.R.N To Style TV show please visit http://www.fyi.tv/shows.

BaileyHouseTedAllen

The gala was hosted by Ted Allen host of Food Network’s “Chopped” and spokesperson for Dining Out For Life

I am here with Ted Allen who is a big supporter of the Bailey House. We are standing right here in the dining room after this wonderful event. Tell my audience why our are a big supporter of the Bailey House.

Ted: Well, I think Bailey House has been doing an amazing job for people with HIV and AIDS. All the way back to 1983 by the way which was the first year the New York Times published the acriment “GRID” Gay Related Immunization Deficiency before we ever had the word AIDS and today thirty something years later Bailey House is still here evolving changing with the different population that are now more impacted by HIV then the original group. So HIV is even more of an issue now for women of color but there is also a whole new generation of young gay men that don’t realize, that weren’t around the first time this epidemic hit us.

And it still is dangerous. It still is. They need to get checked out.

Ted: You are absolutely right. That it is still totally dangerous. There are treatments. It is no longer the death sentence, automatic death sentence that it was.

I know in the 1980’s I lived through it. Thank God!

Ted: Thank God!

But people have to remember it is still deadly if you don’t treat it and that is why we are here today and you are here to tell my audience to bring awareness that this is such a very valuable organization that provides information about HIV.

Ted: Information, housing, art programs, to get children involved, helping people get off the streets living productive lives and people who just got out of prison for example. There are so many layers. I think Bailey House is doing an incredible job and I am thrilled to have the chance to join.

I also spoke to Jane Pauley, a respected television anchor and journalist who is a longtime supporter of Bailey House and a powerful advocate in the field of mental health.

BaileyHouseJanePauley

I am here with the star herself, Ms. Jane Pauley and she is a tremendous supporter of the Bailey House. Why is this organization so important? Tell my audience why you are a big supporter.

Jane: Well, I think its terribly important that we see the whole community we live in and sometimes there are important people who are on the margins of the community who don’t get included. The Bailey House, this is a fun party, but the point is that we see the people who are neighbors who we don’t always see and that is what the Bailey House has done. I am honored to be here. I am honored to be a small part of it.

Tell my audience where we can go to support, contribute and donate, what is the website.

Jane: http://baileyhouse.org

BaileyHouseJanePauleysuppor

Today Bailey House serves hundreds of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in neighborhoods throughout New York City. They provide housing and services that help clients address homelessness, poverty, hunger, substance use, mental illness and other critical issues that make survival hard, if not impossible. They look forward to expanding their services and providing home, hope and community to thousands more men, women and children living with poverty and HIV/AIDS here and around the country.

19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party At Martha Washington Hotel in New York City

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HAMPTONS, NY – Sponsors and honorees gathered at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015 at the Martha Washington Hotel Ballroom in New York City celebrating the June 13th, 2015 event which will be held on the grounds of the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.

During the event I spoke to several supporters and sponsors including John Tortorella, Kathleen de Monchy, Jane Pontarelli and Regional Vice President of Long Island Kathy Munsch of the American Heart Association. My interview with Kathy Munsch was educational and very informative.

Kathy Munsch began her tenure at the American Heart Association in 2000 as a Senior Regional Director and was later promoted to Regional Vice President. She manages the Long Island office, the Long Island Board of Directors, a development staff and is responsible for the integration of her development staff with other departments in the Founder Affiliate such as Communications, Quality Improvement Initiatives and Professional Education. Before joining the American Heart Association, she was Executive Director for a grass roots breast cancer organization raising funds for education and awareness for Long Island women.

Kathy Munsch Hamptons Heart Ball Kathy Munsch Regional Vice President of the American Heart Association Long Island at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

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She began her career with not-for-profits working for ten years at the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence starting as their Supervising Paralegal and then becoming their Events Manager.

Through her leadership, more than 2,000 companies on Long Island have participated in National Wear Red Day, a component of the Go Red For Women Movement, which educates women of all ages by raising their awareness of cardiovascular disease.

Hamptons2 Hamptons Heart Ball Kathy Munsch, Regional Vice President of the American Heart Association Long Island and Cognac at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews John Tortorella, Katlean de Monchy and Regional Vice President of Long Island Kathy Munsch of the American Heart Association at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Cocktail Soiree at the Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan.

Hamptons3 Hamptons Ball Real Estate Agent Jane Pontarelli and Cognac at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Real Estate Agent Jane Pontarelli at 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Cocktail Soiree at the Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan.

I am here at the Martha Washington Hotel for the 19th Annual Heart of The Hamptons Ball Kick-Off Cocktail Party and I am here with this young lady and she is going to introduce herself to the camera.

Kathy: Hi, I am Kathy Munsch Regional Vice-President for the American Heart Association of Long Island.

This is the first time I have ever come to your actual kick-off party which is a preempt to the actual Heart of the Hamptons Ball.

Kathy: Yes and every year there is a kick-off. It is really to introduce our honorees, our chairs, our committee members, our sponsors and it is a chance for everybody to get together.

And to mingle and network.

Kathy: Yes.

Tell my audience what we can expect for this particular evening, at this event.

Kathy: Well, The Heart Ball is really to celebrate our achievements throughout the year and our mission is to make our communities healthier. We will have our honorees and we will have a survivor talk. A young woman will talk who is fourteen years old. When you hear her story and you see how inspiring she is you will say wow.

Will she be here tonight?

Kathy: She will be at the gala and you will hear her story.

How wonderful is that. You are doing such a wonderful job with the Heart Association. This is such a wonderful organization and it helps people of all ages that are suffering from heart disease.

Kathy: Yes it is and you know we are trying to make everybody more aware of prevention Eighty percent of heart disease can be prevented. We have made some great strides especially with women. Letting everyone know that heart disease is not an old man’s disease that many women are effected. It’s the number one killer for them. So really educating everyone on different ways that you can help prevent heart disease.

Yes, I know, I remember when Star Jones told me she was one of honorees a couple of years ago.

Kathy: Yes, she is a survivor.

She did not only talk here at the Heart of the Hamptons Ball but she also spoke at Fashion Week, I got a clip of her talking about that.

Kathy: She is a great speaker and very good for the American Heart Association and tells a story where you know she knew the signs and the symptoms but she didn’t think it was happening to her and she ended up with open heart surgery. She is here today because of modern technology which comes from all the research dollars with all the money we raise.

Thank God!

Kathy: Making a difference in everybody’s lives.

Absolutely. Tell my audience where we can find out more information about the Heart Association and how we can support it.

Kathy: You can go to www.heart.org and you can pull up Hamptons Heart Ball or you can find everything, anything you want to know about heart disease you can find on our website. There is a tremendous amount of information that is really important for everybody to understand.

Hamptons4 Hamptons Ball Michael Wellbrock, Cognac Wellerlane, Joy Marks, Alan Marks at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

Hamptons5 Hamptons Ball Lucia Hwong Gordon at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

The American Heart Association is this countries oldest, largest voluntary organization devoted to battling cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The organization was founded by six cardiologists in 1924. The American Heart Association now includes more than 22.5 million volunteers and supporters working tirelessly to eliminate these diseases. They fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to save and improve lives.

Hamptons6 Hamptons Ball Joy Marks at the 19th Annual Hamptons Heart Ball Kick-off Cocktail Party on Tuesday March 24, 2015.

Their nationwide organization includes 144 local offices and nearly 2,700 employees. They transported their national headquarters from New York to Dallas in 1975 to be more centrally located. The American Stroke Association was created as a division in 1997 to bring together the organization’s stroke-related activities. Their mission is building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Enjoi Lux Presented 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant in Roosevelt Field

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LONG ISLAND, NY – Guys and Girls attended the 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant in Roosevelt Field on Saturday March 21, 2015.

Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree is dedicated to raise funds to benefit a community based non-profit, Women of Integrity Inc. (WOI Inc) 5th Annual Prom Dress Drive for young girls in the Nassau County community.

This event included an array of various Horsd’oeuvres, Desserts, Unlimited Red & White Wine networking, raffles and entertainment. Shantay Carter the Founder of Women of Integrity Inc. sat down with me and discussed the purpose behind the organization and Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree.

Womeon Integrity Shantay Shantay Carter Founder of Women of Integrity Inc. with Entertainment Journalist Cognac Wellerlane at the 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant on Saturday March 21, 2015.

Tell my audience why you are the founder of this organization?

Shantay: I am the founder of Women of Integrity Inc. because I found that there was a need in Long Island to help our under serve population of young girls. A lot of things are catered to the boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. I felt that there was nothing on Long Island. I am also a registered nurse so it was kind of in my nature to want to help people and give back so I found that a lot of our girls are lost. They are struggling.

They are very confused.

Shantay: They are very confused. They don’t have that good support system at home. Luckily I was fortunate to have that and I always wanted to pass that on to someone else and be able to give back to my community and that is why I started Women of Integrity. We can be their resource for these young girls.

Women of Integrity Board Members of Women of Integrty at the 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant on Saturday March 21, 2015.

We do etiquette workshops. We have done healthy living workshops, financial education and we work with Roosevelt High School after school mentoring programs where we go every Monday to Roosevelt High School and we work with the girls by bringing guest speakers. Just to be able to address topics that they want to talk about. It can range from everything and anything. We just did a guys panel, a male panel. We had two male speakers come in to speak to the girls. It was just meant to be able for them to ask questions like, “If I call a boy and he doesn’t call me back, why?” You know what I mean.

Yeah, they don’t understand.

Shantay: Yeah, so he was able to explain to them why. He stressed for them to stay in school.

They think it’s because they are ugly or fat or something.

Shantay: Right and he told them exactly that it is totally not the case. These guys are immature and they are young and they don’t really know what they want. So you have to know what you want as a young girl. You have to know your worth so they won’t treat you like that.

I love the name Women of Integrity.

Shantay: I wanted something that was going to stand out.

It sounds so powerful, Women of Integrity.

Shantay: That is what I wanted. I wanted women to know we all are Women of Integrity.

Shantay Carter also went on to discuss their Prom Dress Giveway Program.

Shantay: Our Prom Dress Giveway event will be next month on April 25th. We will be holding it at Kennedy Park in Hempstead. The kids just have to register online and that is for girls that are in need of a dress and who financially cannot afford it. I think prom is something that every girl deserves to go to. A lot of women have these dresses in the closet for years that they are not using, donate it for a good cause.

I want you to tell my audience where we can go to participate, where we can go to contribute and where we can go to support, what is the website?

Shantay: Our website is http://www.womenofintegrityinc.com

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Shantay Carter founder of About Women Of Integrity Inc. and Deborah Polidore Founder of Enjoi Lux at the 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant in Roosevelt Field.

I also had the pleasure of interviewing Deborah Polidore from Enjoi Lux. Enjoi brings into existence luxurious events while highlighting emerging entrepreneurs and giving back to charity.

Girls to pearls Alaina Reid, Shantay Carter and Deborah Polidore from Girls to Pearls at the 2nd Annual Girls to Pearls Cocktail Soiree at Seasons 52 Restaurant on Saturday March 21, 2015.

Introduce yourself to the camera.

Deborah: Hi, I am Deborah the co-founder of Enjoi Lux.

Tell my audience about the organization and why you established it.

Deborah – We established Girls to Pearls because we love young women in our community and we felt that they need to have role models, not role models on television but real women that look like them, real women that attend their schools, real women that play at their parks and to let them know that their dreams are possible.

Women Of Integrity Inc. is an organization of a diverse group of women from all different educational, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds whose aim is to support and empower women of all ages and ethnicity, while fostering the confidence necessary to accomplish their goals, dreams, and aspirations of the future. We extend our support through Volunteer service, Professional mentoring programs, and Community outreach events.

Aid to Developmentally Disabled; 1st Annual Shamrock Shindig, Thursday, March 19, 2015 at Long Island Aquarium

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LONG ISLAND, NY – It was a Shamrock good time as Lads and Lasses gave their support and attended the 1st Annual Shamrock Shindig on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead.

Guests enjoyed an evening of Irish charm with a mix of marine life. The event was planned as Aid to the Developmentally Disabled (ADD). The fundraiser included h’orderves, cocktails, an Irish buffet and private access to the spectacular aquarium. The night was filled with fun and humor as guests were treated to comedy entertainment, as well as witness one ADD Executive or Manager being lowered into the aquariums 120,000-gallon Lost City tank for a nose-to-nose swim with the sharks.

DonRiebFounderADD Don Rieb, Founder of ADD and Entertainment Journalist Cognac Wellerlane, at the 1st Annual Shamrock Shindig on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead.

During the event I had the pleasure of interviewing Founder Don Rieb.

I am talking to the CEO of ADD. Introduce yourself to the camera darling.

Don: My name is Don Rieb. I am the founding CEO of the organization ADD. We started the agency in 1983 and we opened up our first residence in 1984 for those with disabilities and several years later we opened up programs for those with services for mental illness. We now have thirty residences in five townships.

And that is what this event is really all about. It’s participating and giving back to this organization.

Don: Yes. It’s actually critical. What’s happening over the past several years is that Albany and the federal government is reducing Medicaid funding for the past several years. Not just ADD but other organizations in New York State. It’s becoming much more difficult. They want us to do more for less.

More for less.

Don: Yet it’s getting harder and harder. So raising events like this is actually critical. Not only that but it get’s the community engaged in what we do.

And to bring awareness. That is the whole point behind this particular event. Obviously we are celebrating St. .Patrick’s Day but in a nice way because we are giving back to this wonderful organization.

Don: That and as you said it becomes an educational process for the community. The East End has been absolutely wonderful to us. It’s a wonderful community and we are happy to be here. We have houses out in East Hampton, Southampton, Greenport, Southold and Brookhaven Town. People are great.

Tell my audience what we’re going to experience at the 1st Annual Shamrock Shindig.

Don: Well this evening, obviously it’s to get the community together to learn something about ADD and to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day. One of the things we are going to do is, we have a shark tank contest and the people who contributed will go into the shark tank. We had a program director and our board president, they got the most funding so there going to be going into the tank with the sharks!

Oh my God!

Don: Yeah, that’s what I said. Getting the people here is really about awareness and raising money is extremely important to us. All the money that we raise will go to all the people we serve.

Tell my audience where we can go to participate, support and contribute.

Don: We have a website. It’s http://www.addny.org

I also spoke to President Vincent Barry and why he became a big supporter of ADD.

Tell my audience why you are a big supporter of ADD.

Vinnie: Well I have been with ADD for more than ten years on the board and I really didn’t know too much about ADD when I first joined. I heard about it and the longer I have been with it’s been just a phenomenal organization. Don runs a great organization. It serves a very strong lead out here to save the mentally challenged and disabled. Don started this thirty years ago in 1984 with one home and now it has grown to thirty houses.

TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Founder of http://www.addny.org Donald Rieb and President Vincent Barry at the 1st Annual Shamrock Shindig at the Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead, NY on March 19, 2015

The purpose at ADD is to provide the optimum level of quality rehabilitative services to all individuals living within their residential program. They provide a healthy, safe, and homelike environment in which individuals may achieve the greatest level of independence possible. ADD strives to surpass all requirements of OMH, OMRDD, federal, state and local authorities.

They are guided by their core of values:

  • Respect
  • Choice
  • Trust
  • Empathy
  • Dignity

ADD believes that every individual has value and the potential to learn and achieve goals. ADD does everything to inspire self-esteem, and encourage individuals to help each other and work together whenever possible. They aim to achieve fulfillment for every individual and employee by providing innovative and progressive programming and training. They are consistent in providing competent and compassionate staff who are role models for the people they serve. Standards of excellence are adhered to and monitored, as we work to achieve continuous improvement in all areas. ADD is dedicated to creating an environment where individuals are given the opportunity to be productive members of their community.

For more information please visit http://www.addny.org

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