Funds support Morgan Hill Rotary Club’s projects, scholarships

By Marty Cheek

The popular Dazzle social event is back. The biggest fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill will be held at Fortino Winery Friday, May 20.

“We want to make it a nightclub kind of party where people really do dress up in tuxes or suits or elegant dress and dance,” said event chair Lori Fox. “We’re just going to have a lot of elements of surprise — a lot of dazzle. And we really want to have so much energy that everyone will want to come out and party.”

Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased at www.MorganHillRotary.org.

Fox promises the entertainment is going to be “amazing,” and the Rotary will have “awesome” items at the event’s live auction including a donated classic MGB car.

Rotarian Rich Firato is in charge of entertainment at Dazzle. The opening music act will be Joe Ferrara.

Isaiah Pickett

“After dinner, we have Isaiah Pickett, who is the most up and coming artist in the South Valley,” Firato said. “He’ll be performing Bruno Mars, top ’70s and ’80s dance music. So you’ll be dancing and you’ll be quite entertained.”

The idea for Dazzle started in 2006 when Lou Mirviss was the club president, said Rotarian Carol Carr.

“She suggested we have a ‘ladies’ event during the golf tournament which started with a luncheon,” she said. “Then the following  year, at my suggestion, since I could provide the clothing, we had a fashion show.”

Rotarian Tracy Newquist came up with the idea of calling the event “Dazzle” at a brain-storming session, said Rotarian Sandy de la Cuesta.

“It was really cute because everyone asked, ‘What’s dazzle?’” she said. “Our goal was that people would know when they said the word, they would know what it meant.”

The name Dazzle built a word-of-mouth appeal for fun, Newquist said.

“We wanted to make a name for Dazzle where people say, ‘Oh, my gosh! You missed out on the greatest event ever. You need to make sure you go next year,” she said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

Dazzle raises funds for the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill to do a number of activities that benefit local residents as well as people in other countries. About $25,000 in scholarship funding will go to local high school students this year.

Rotary also hosts a senior citizens lunch where it serves 350 local men and women every year.

Other benefits from the funds include trade school grants, partnering with Martha’s Kitchen, an annual speech contest to teach high school students public speaking skills, providing wheelchairs, medical supplies and an ambulance to a small town in Mexico.

“If a difference needs to be done somewhere in the world, Rotary is probably involved,” said Rotarian Roger Malech.

“Dazzle is the most fun fundraiser I’ve ever had the opportunity to be a part of,” he said. “The day of the event was like being a guest at a wedding.”