A ball held on the Grand Pier in memory of Weston-super-Mare hotelier Axentis Michael, raised £215,000 for the charitable trust set up in his name.
This Axentis Michael Memorial Ball, which is organised by the Michael family and is held bi-annually, has now raised total of £565,000 for local good causes.
Nine hundred guests attended the black tie event, which is the first major function to be held on the Grand Pier since it re-opened at the end of October. Actor John Cleese was the guest of honour at the ball on Saturday evening (27th November).
Other celebrity guests included Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den and Somerset cricketers Andy Caddick, Marcus Trescothick, Alfonso Thomas and Charl Willoughby. BBC Points West’s Alex Lovell and auctioneer and TV presenter Martin Roberts were on hand to help out with fundraising at the event.
A Citroen C1 car, donated by motor dealers, Howards raised over £11,000 when it was raffled during the event.
Axentis’ son and Pier owner Kerry Michael said: “This is the fourth memorial ball we have held, and the biggest so far. In previous years we were restricted to 500 guests as there wasn’t a venue in Weston-super-Mare big enough to take any more people.
“Before this year’s ball we set ourselves a target of breaking the half a million pound barrier in total monies raised and I am absolutely delighted to say we exceeded this by a massive £65,000.
“We have had some fantastic support and I cannot believe the generosity of all our friends and suppliers in the current economic climate. I would like to thank everyone who attended the event for their generosity”.
Become a fan on FACEBOOK
Get tweeting with us on TWITTER
No comments:
Post a Comment