KENTUCKY DERBY SPRING FUNDRAISER

Emma Reynolds
Aug 3
6 min read

This year’s spring 2025 Kentucky Derby FUNdraiser on Saturday, May 3rd at the Riverbend Club was a huge success! We had an unforgettable evening, featuring a Bourbon Tasting, live viewing of the 151^st Kentucky Derby, online and live auctions, thrilling casino games, two raffle ticket games, fabulous prizes, delicious Derby inspired cuisine and drinks, hand rolled cigars and more. It was a fantastic gathering of community members, new friends, and long-time supporters—all coming together to raise crucial scholarship funds for local students. We are excited to announce we raised over $90,000 to put towards scholarships this fall!

WATCH PARTY AND BOURBON TASTING

We started the evening off right with our exciting Kentucky Derby Watch Party and Bourbon Tasting. Attendees who came to view the Kentucky Derby were able to watch the race on big screen TVs located throughout the event space, participate in our Bourbon Tasting, sip our two fabulous signature cocktails the Oak Lilys and Mint Juleps and nibble on delicious Derby themed hors d'oeuvres.

To add to the fun, almost everyone played our Winner’s Circle 50/50 raffle game. Where they bought tickets and placed them in the jar/s of their favorite horse/s. They watched the race and cheered on their pick to win in hopes of winning big themselves. Our winner, Dawn Wierzbicku, was so generous, rather than split her spoils 50/50, she donated it all to the Scholarship Fund! We could not thank her enough for her kindness in supporting our mission. The Winner’s Circle 50/50 game was so much fun and well received we hope to offer it again next year!

Our Bourbon Tasting for the Watch Party was held in the Radius Room. Our tasting host, Suzanne Charleston, also Vice President of the Scholarship Fund Board, did an amazing job selecting five excellent bourbons; the Uncle Nearest Single Barrel, the Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight, the Bowman Brothers Pioneer Spirit Small Batch, the Penelope Rosé Cask Finish, and the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 151, for us to taste. Our guest could choose to taste one or all five bourbons and enjoy sipping on their selections during the Derby race. Everyone had their favorite, but I heard the Bowman Brothers Pioneer Spirit from Virginia was so smooth it got special props!

MAIN EVENT

After the race, our guests started to arrive, they were greeted with a glass of bubbly from our champagne wall. And, of course, our fabulous signature cocktails continued to be available at our bars located in the Potomac Room and the South Terrace for all to enjoy throughout the evening. Our guests were free to mingle, buy raffle tickets for our gorgeous Van Clef Necklace, view our Online Auction Items, play BLACK JACK & ROULETTE for fun with their funny money, take pictures at our PHOTO BOOTH and smoke hand rolled CIGARS.

WELCOME

Once everyone settled in, Lindsay Harper, the Scholarship Fund President, welcomed everyone and announced the winner of the Winner’s Circle 50/50 Drawing. Then, Jackie Harding, Director of Fundraising, gave a warm and gracious thank you to all our sponsors.

After these announcements, our dinner buffet and dessert stations were opened for guests to dine at their leisure throughout the event space.

ONLINE AUCTION

Our guests had the opportunity to see some of our online auction items displayed on the South Terrace. Our auction consisted of a wide range of incredible items, services, and experiences. Whether you were looking for a weekend getaway, spa packages, golf outing or gift certificates to top restaurants, we had something for everyone! If you were not able to attend our event you could shop our online auction from anywhere. We even had one outstanding bidder placing bids while vacationing in Europe!

Our online auction did not close until 5:00pm on Sunday, the day after the derby event.

RAFFLE ITEM

Throughout the evening, our guests were able to view and purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a gorgeous new Van Cleef and Arpels Vintage Alhambra Necklace. Our winner was Sasha Malik. Thank you, Sasha, for participating on our raffle and congratulation… you are going to look stunning wearing this timeless piece!

PRIZES

We love a theme party! Prizes were given for the best hat, best dressed and best coordinating couple! Our judge – Sumaira Malik, Scholarship Fund Events Director, Toria Scotto, Scholarship Fund Treasurer and Kaha Haski, Women’s Club Member, moved throughout the crowd incognito during the first half of the evening scrutinizing our guests for the most spectacular attire. Their favorites were rewarded for their efforts for playing along with our theme! Our fabulous winners were: Best Hat – PeggySue McNulty, Best Dressed – Ashley Summers and for Best Coordinating Couple – Mariana Reyes and Daniel Shea.

LIVE AUCTION AND SPIN TO WIN

Our fabulous auctioneer, Rick Bernstein – The Voice of DC, started our LIVE Auction off with a new ice breaker, Spin to Win! This is a game where our guests bid to win a chance to spin the wheel. The wheel was full of fun prizes and the highest bidder got to spin for a prize. The bidding is repeated 3 more times, after every spin. Our 4 lucky spinners won incredible prizes, the big prize being a Chesapeake Bay chartered fishing trip.

We had 5 outstanding Live Auction items: an Ultimate Golf Package to the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida, a Lilly Valley Inn & Culinary Experience in the breathtaking Virginia New River Basin, a Sojourn Travel Advisors & Celebrity Cruises Package in the Caribbean, an Ultimate All Inclusive Luxury Escape Package at choice of lavish 5-star resort, and a Private Wine Dinner & Cellar Tour of over $7,000 bottles.

Rick presented our auction items masterfully and his cattle rattle was mesmerizing. He created excitement and the audience responded. Bid cards were in the air and guest were rallying to win their prized possession!

Once all the Live Auctions were bid on and found their new owner, Rick opened the floor to an Open Paddle Raise starting with $2,500, the amount of one general scholarship. The paddles went up again. Rick lowered the paddle raise amount, so all are guests had a chance to contribute what they could, until he ended our raise at $100. Our guests were beyond generous with their support. We can’t thank them enough.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DANCING

At the conclusion of our Live Auction, Rick announced our Raffle winner and our judges announced their favorite Attire picks. Next, he let everyone know our Mystery Wine Pull had begun in the hallway. Then, to keep the party going, Rick proclaimed the dance floor in the radius room was open. Our amazing DJ played the perfect beats while our guests mingled, danced with friends, and enjoyed yummy late night snacks.

MYSTERY WINE PULL

Our Mystery Wine Pull table was location in the hallway as you left the main event space. The game was open for play from 10-11pm. As people were retiring for the evening, they could spot and take a chance (or two) to win an awesome bottle of wine. Only $50 per try. We have curated a mix of red, white and sparkling wines… some valuing as high as $200 per bottle. It's as easy as selecting a number and you could be taking home a spectacular bottle of wine. We sold all 35 bottles!

LAST CALL

As the evening winded down, Suzanne Charleston, proclaimed Last Call at 10:30 and our Black Jack & Roulette Tables were closed. She declared Matt Matay as our Casino prize winner and gave a final reminder to everyone to play our Mystery Wine Pull game and let everyone know our Online Auction did not close until 5:00pm the next day. So, there was still time to bid on your favs… bid high and bid often!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our unforgettable Derby night! From fabulous hats to heartfelt moments, it was a night full of fun, laughter, and community – all for a great cause. We're so grateful for your support in making this year's event one to remember! We appreciate your giving spirit and your never ending support of the Scholarship Fund!

With gracious hearts,

The Scholarship Fund Board of Directors and Event Committee

scholarshipfund@womensclubgfsf.org www.womensclubgfsf.org

Take a look inside our FUNdraiser: