Pictured: Bill Walker, president of Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale, on behalf of the Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center
By Rachel Galvin
Whirling, swirling, fantastical fun awaited guests at this year’s BBX Capital’s Men of Style “Wonderland” themed event on Nov. 30 at the Galleria at Fort Lauderdale Mall. Greeted by Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter on stilts, guests knew they were in for something wonderful. Anyone who has been to the event before already knew what was in store. The soiree, which was presented by Signature Grand and CAN Community Health, is always stacked with plenty of food, drinks, fashion and fun, and this year did not disappoint. Guests could shop at a pop-up shop and buy some new clothes while enjoying a specialty-made cocktail. They could stop by one of the many tables offering light bites while enjoying some burlesque. Hof’s (formerly Hoffman’s Chocolates” hosted a room of desserts and people could take photos with a 360 photo booth complete with props.
But the event that is always in the spotlight yearly is the fashion show filled not only with models on the runway but specially picked gentlemen well known in the community, who each walked on behalf of a local charity and their supporters helped to donate for the cause. The men who were modeling include the following:
- Bill Beckman, Sales Director at Becton, Dickinson & Company, on behalf of the South Florida Symphony Orchestra
- James Conner, Chief Grants Officer of Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, on behalf of Henderson Behavioral Health
- David Diaz, Real Estate Advisor for David Diaz Realty/Compass, on behalf of the FLITE Center
- Phil Dunlap, Director of Broward County’s Cultural Division on behalf of History Fort Lauderdale
- Brad Friedman, President & CEO of Artisan Foods Catering, on behalf of Art & Culture Center/Hollywood
- Joshua Levenson, Partner at Holland & Knight LLP, on behalf of Leadership Broward
- Alfredo Lopez, Creative Services Director of Northrop & Johnson, on behalf of Kids In Distress
- Malcolm MacInnes, President of MGM General Contracting, on behalf of HANDY
- Jason MacMenamin, Vice President of Global Learning Architecture at American Express, on behalf of Florida Children’s Theatre
- Alfredo Olvera, Realtor and Director of the Board at The Pride Center at Equality Park, on behalf of The Pride Center at Equality Park
- Tyler Smillie, Senior Vice President of Private Banking at Bank of America, on behalf of the Jack & Jill Children’s Center
- Bill Walker, President of Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale, on behalf of Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center
Event emcee Jacey Birch, an anchor for WPLG News, announced that overall the event had raised more than $210,000. People could pay $25 to vote for their favorite guy/ charity online. It was also reported to be the largest event ever with more than 1000 people in attendance.
And the people in attendance were excited. Each held up large signs displaying the head of the man they were rooting for and there was plenty of hooting and hollering as each stylish man did their own specialty catwalk walk, some throwing out items to the crowd … t-shirts, teddy bears, coins, roses and more, even shooting off confetti canons. The men were dressed in fashions from Macy’s and Dillards, which both have stores in the mall.
The Galleria Mall has events throughout the year. Find out more at www.galleriamall-fl.com.
Below are some pictures of the Men of Style and professional models on the runway, some of the purveyors of spirits and light bites, and more of the action happening at this event. See more pics soon at the Let’s Talk Magazine Facebook page.
