With their fast-paced schedules, how does a very busy business, social and charitable couple like Ed St. John and Sharon Akers find time to socialize with family and friends?
Well, they throw an 11-hour Calypso-Caribbean-themed barbecue, that?s how.
This past weekend, party-goers came by car, boat and even helicopter to Ed?s lovely waterside home in Severn. Arriving a little after 6 p.m. on Saturday, I was worried the fun factor may have already dropped a few notches, as I passed and had a quick chat with Ted and Nancy Herget in the driveway. They had enjoyed themselves in what we jokingly called the First Shift. En route to deliver my hostess gift, I ran across several guests who were trying to escape the hot setting sun. My favorite educator, Dr. Nancy Grasmick, and her hubby Lou were keeping cool with John Paterakis. Elsewhere, guests were feasting on the many culinary delights. Seen enjoying the spicy side were Greg and Lisa Barnhill, automan Scott Donohoo, Aris Melissaratos, who soon will be living in my neck of the woods (Greenspring Valley), Channel 11?s weekend anchor and all-around great gal Kate Amara, Streit Baldwin, Anne Arundel County Exec and City Comptroller wannabe Janet Owens, Stan and Edie Brown, Ron and Isabella Rattell, Bruce and Mary Carlin, Jennifer and Steve Diamond and Peruvian ambassador Dr. Eduardo Ferrero and his lovely wife Veronica.
As we ended our “shift,” Sharon Akers joked: “Next year, Ed and I will have to take nap breaks to stay up for the last shift.”
JOIN THE KITCHEN CELEBRATION
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore need your help.
The Lexington Street facility provides a home away from home for seriously ill kids and their families and helps fund programs that directly improve the well-being of children, according to executive director Marianne Rowan-Braun. The staff and volunteers have served an average of 39,420 meals to 1,500 families every year for the past 24 years, and now the kitchens need renovating.
How can you help? Participate in the “Fill Our Kitchens With Kindness” campaign. Very much like a bridal registry, you can choose from their wish-list registries at Bed Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel and Target. This wonderful organization is charged with funding its annual million-dollar operating budget in addition to funding improvements for the facility.
The 37-room facility is constantly full, and it needs our help in reaching its goals. So as you start your back-to-school shopping, keep the Ronald McDonald folks in mind. For information, call 410-528-1010, ext. 105.
Anne Boone-Simanski is the social columnist for The Examiner and can be reached at [email protected] or 410-878-6131.
