Starry night
Summerside Boys and Girls Club Celebrity dinner brings in funds for youth programming
Action figure in hand, David Bobbitt fulfilled a childhood ambition Monday night.
Not only did Bobbitt get to shake hands with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, he also took a selfie with him and got the renowned pro-wrestler to sign a miniature toy version of himself.
It was great moment, said Bobbitt, who was all smiles after the encounter.
“They were my childhood heroes growing up when I was watching WWF. It’s a dream come true,” he laughed.
There were hundreds of little moments like that one Monday at Credit Union Place, as the 14th annual Summerside Boys and Girls Club Celebrity Dinner Gala stretched into the evening.
Sporting greats like Donovan Bailey, Bryan Trottier and Summerside’s own Heather Moyse, to name a few, were on hand to sign autographs, interact with fans and generally help raise money for a good cause.
A few, like Bailey, were also called on to address the crowd.
Bailey, a retired sprinter, gold medalist and, at one point in the late 1990s, the fastest human alive, was nursing an injured leg for the event, which he said he’d hurt recently playing basketball.
He apologized, to the amusement of the crowd, for not being able to take on all challengers eager for a race.
He also thanked the Boys and Girls Club staff members for the work they do in the community. “My job is easy,” said Bailey. “It’s you and your team that actually do the work to make sure that our greatest commodities, which are our kids, gravitate to positive things and grow up to do incredible things.”
One of those future doers of something incredible was Sydney Cameron, who was named Girl of the Year for the club this year.
It was a title she’s often hoped for, she said.
“It seemed pretty cool, and a lot of people I knew got it. They were super excited for it. It was pretty honourable to get it,” she said.
Other honours announced included: Boy of the Year - Will Ramsay; Youth of the Year Victoria Bernard; and Volunteer of the Year - Elaine Gaudet.
The annual celebrity dinner is one of the largest fundraising events the Summerside Boys and Girls Club holds annually.
This year’s gala is believed to have attracted a record number of people. An official number was not available Monday evening, but estimates by organizers put the crowd at more than 1,000.