CHARITY EVENTS
56
Treasure Coast Medical Report
staff and a committee. And then in 2000, the Mum Ball committee
was led by its first chairwoman, Mercie Peach. In her
leadership role, Peach approached it almost like running her
marine equipment company that she and her husband, Bill,
owned for many years. She saw the fundraising potential of
the event and decided to sell the tickets only at sponsorship
level. It was an idea that had not been accomplished with the
ball before.
“We put it in the newspaper that sponsors were available
starting at $1,000 for two guests,” she recalls. “That brought
in such a response that before we knew it, the sponsors were
all sold out. There were no tickets left.”
That year the festive affair was held at Jack and CeeJay
Heckenberg’s waterfront estate in Sewall’s Point. Black, white
and silver were the colors highlighting an elegant ambiance
as arriving guests were greeted by a butler in tails. Proceeds
from the event benefited radiation oncology equipment for
the Robert & Carol Weissman Cancer Center.
Supporting your local hospital is essential, Peach points
out, because it is lifesaving for the community.
“The hospital is like a beacon that you can go to at anytime
and get the help that you need,” she says. “Therefore, it’s
important that we have the best healthcare that we can.”
Momentum was building for the Mum Ball in the 2000s
and its successful fundraising was no accident. The size of the
committees grew and the planning of the event became structured.
These philanthropists cared deeply about the projects
that they were raising money for, looking for ones that had
the most impact. The hospital proposed three projects for
the committee to choose from. Presentations were pitched to
them, and then considerable thought and discussion were >>
Mercie Peach, left, the first
chairwoman of the Mum Ball,
helped transform it into a
highly profitable event.
Robert and Beth Lord, Dr. Edward Savage, and Michelle and Dr. Wael Barsoum celebrate a night of successful giving at the 2018 ball.