Column: How much are the doggies in the window? $200,000 for these two Labs — here’s why
Two auction bidders each paid $100,000 Saturday for a Labrador retriever puppy from a kennel run by a retired Navy SEAL. Their generosity raised $200,000 and triggered an eruption of cheers.
Such was the enthusiastic support for Navy SEALS and their families at a gala benefit for the all-volunteer SOF (Special Operations Forces) Support Foundation.
Jenny Craig and Cory Lohman purchased a gourmet dinner with retired NFL player Donnie Edwards and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees for $100,000. Edwards and his wife, Kathryn, arrived with Joe Reilly, a World War II paratrooper, who also will be a dinner guest.
The gala and earlier golf tournament, co-chaired by Madeleine Pickens and her daughter, Dominique Plewes, at their Del Mar Country Club ended up raising more than $1 million. After all, it included a trip to Italy for a live performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli, a private tennis lesson in Las Vegas with husband-and-wife tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf and a private round of golf with PGA champion John Daly.
Even guest speaker Dr. Dilip Joseph, autographed the commemorative trident table centerpieces. He authored “Kidnapped by the Taliban: A Story of Terror, Hope and Rescue by SEAL Team Six,” a tale of his captivity and harrowing rescue.
The crowd of 400 included many retired SEALS and pro athletes. Also among attendees was David Beamer, father of Todd Beamer, one of the United Airlines passengers who helped overpower 9 /11 terrorists on Flight 93. Pro football Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Andre Reed, World Series champion relief pitcher Jesse Orosco and NBA legend Bill Walton were also on hand.
Political blunder: San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate agreed to pay a fine of $1,500 for including 60 city employees on a reelection committee email. It was sent Feb. 7 to about 9,000 potential voters and had a donation link to Cate’s 2018 reelection campaign. But the councilman didn’t have a hard time convincing the city’s Ethics Commission that his campaign violation was an honest mistake. One of the city employee recipients was the executive director of the Ethics Commission.
Ethics Commission head Stacey Fulhorst said this blunder supported Cate’s “representation that inclusion of city of San Diego employees was inadvertent.” She said the error was taken into consideration in the determining the penalty amount. It was the same fine paid by Mike Aguirre and Carl DeMaio, who made similar mistakes in their respective campaigns for city attorney and city council in 2008.
At your service: Meb Keflezighi, San Diego’s marathon legend, is serving as honorary chair of the annual STAR/PAL Celebrity Waiter Luncheon on April 27 at the Jacobs Center.
Despite their move north, the L.A. Chargers are continuing to support the youth development program run by local law enforcement officers. The team is donating $5,000 and auction items.
STAR/PAL has yet to get confirmation of participation on Friday by current L.A. Chargers football players and Chargers Girls, however. In any event, word has it the Chargers will be represented by some retired players, including former wide receiver Greg Camarillo and defensive ends Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire.
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