by Phyllis & Barry Gordon
On Saturday evening, October 10th, over 130 wonderful sponsors, donors and guests came together for an evening of Laughter and Love.
While joining together on Zoom was in no way what we had envisioned when we began our planning for the April, 2020 RCG Comedy Night, our torpedoed plans in March due to COVID forced us to regroup. We canceled our venue, Traditions of Wallingford (folks there were so gracious), put away the centerpieces we were in the process of building, stopped baking the cookies we’d planned for a little extra dessert, and rescheduled our comedian for October – hoping, at least, we could still go live.
And wonderfully, ALL of our sponsors, when given an ‘out’ in March, stayed with us, showing us, once again, how incredibly fortunate we are and how generous and loving THEY are.
As the early days of summer wore on, we knew in our hearts that a live event in October would never materialize. Disappointed but not deterred, we figured out what we needed to do to carry off a Zoom event and, with the help of some dear friends and our flexible comedian, Johnny Lampert…the show did go on!
Beginning at 7:30 p.m. sharp, a lovingly-made video (thank you, Audrey Locorotondo) thanking our Sponsors and donors and featuring the philanthropic life of Ryan, put to the music of Queen’s “We Are the Champions”, played (over and over!) while our guests logged in.
We have to say…it was really wonderful and heartwarming to see our family and friends (and some of their family and friends) together, under one ZOOM!
At 8:00 the ‘curtain’ rose, and we gave a (fairly) brief and grateful-filled speech, while also letting everyone know why a Comedy Night was such a fitting tribute to Ryan.
By 8:10 or so, we introduced our comedian…and Johnny began a very funny, sometimes racy routine that had everyone laughing. It seemed that in some ways, Zoom offered an intimacy that a live show might not have. Perhaps it was because people were in their homes – and relaxed – and Johnny proved quite astute at noticing some interesting tidbits about our guests.
Johnny had planned on a 45 minute show…and seemed to enjoy us enough to play for an hour – and then stuck around for a bit more while we carried on our Tea-Cup raffle! We are grateful for his talents, his time and his generosity.
Our event ended, as usual, with the drawing of our (40+!) raffle prizes, the vast majority of which, thankfully, were procured by Wynn & Elise Schoolnik prior to the state shuttering. For the first time ever, there was no cost for the raffle event – this was one way we could thank all of our pre-COVID guests for hanging in with us, and our newer guests for joining us.
While 2020 has been an incredible challenge for all, the high point for us was the RCG Comedy Night.
And, most importantly, we are thrilled to be able to provide the charities RCG supports over $24,300! Thank you, one and all, who participated. We are sure that Ryan was laughing with us, and applauding all of our participants for helping to keep his legacy alive.
From the bottom of our hearts, we give a special thanks to…
OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS…
Audrey Locorotondo
Elise & Wynn Schoolnik
Lisa Rappoport
Matthew Rappoport
Sandy Balayan
Sindy Malin
THOSE WHO SO GENEROUSLY PROVIDED THEIR SERVICES AND/OR EXPERTISE…
Larry MacAdams, L.P. MacAdams www.lpmacadams.com
AND TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS…(PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR BUSINESS DONORS)
‘FRIENDS’ SPONSOR
Lynne Rappoport
‘SEINFELD’ SPONSORS
Lee & Kevin Wise
Lisa & Bill Rappoport
‘HOME IMPROVEMENT’ SPONSORS
The Chaney Family Foundation
‘FAMILY GUY’ SPONSORS
Donna & Bob Namnoum
Terri & Bruce Alpert
‘THE OFFICE’ SPONSORS
Diana (Valentine the Clown) & Tom Sheard
Julie Rappoport, Daniel Rappoport, Matthew Rappoport & Beno Varela
Sherwood Inspection Services www.sherwoodinspection.com (Dave Sherwood)
‘FULL HOUSE’ SPONSORS
Allie & Alex Madlener
American Eagle Federal Credit Union
Community Foundation of Middlesex County www.middlesexcountycf.org/
Del Greco Electric (203) 265-0253 (Tony Del Greco)
Dennis Glynn & Co. www.glynncpas.com (Dennis Glynn)
Elise & Wynn Schoolnik
Karen & Dick Caplan
Kathy & Barry Schacht
Kathy & Dean Bolt
Katie & Dan Brett
Larry Hyatt
Laura & Dudley Orr
Laura & Dudley Orr
Mastrianni & Seguljic, LLC www.mastseglaw.com (Mike Mastrianni)
Prolete Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine www.proletept.com (Keith Steigbigel)
Sally & Alan Smirnoff
Sue & Robb Ledder
Susan Pogue
Suzy & Greg Carroll
And…Our ‘SAVED BY THE BELL’ SPONSORS
Alida & Dave Cella
Amy Ravitz
Amy & Dave Sclarsky
Ariana Balayan & Jose Vazquez
Arlene O’Tell
Audrey Locorotondo
Barbara Gross
Barbara Rubin
Barbara & Dave Barry
Beverly Morse
Beverly & Hersch Rozen
Brad Jubelirer
Carol & Gerald Kardas
Dana Dober
Dave Zemelsky
Denise & Ron Garcia
Edith Winick
Ellen Rosoff
Gail McCormick & Frank Willis
Gloria & Mike Reddy
Honey & Mickey Mastrianni
Janice Mininberg
Jenn & Eric Dubin
Jess & Dean Morgans
John Sgrillo
Judy Solomon
Judy Wolf
Judy & Rich Huntington
Julie & Nick Meucci
Karen & Dick Lebrasseur
Kathy & Fred Page
Laura & Dave Roman
Leah & Doron Rehter
Linda & Kurt Bahrs
Linda Waldman & Hesch Summer
Lisa & Kurt Uihlein
Lori & Rich Silkoff
Lorien & Chris Fiecoat
Marcia Tubin
Marcy & Neil Gollinger
Massage by Kimberly (203- 284-2552) Kimberly Dower
Melissa Mishcon & Charlie Ferris
Meredith & John Sturges
Michele Wolff & Donald Namnoum
Michelle & Jeff Kochiss
Michelle & John Mulligan
Muffie Locke & Bill Rappoport
Nancy Huber
Nancy Sloane
Nancy & Keith Huber
Pam & Peter Souchins
Phyllis Dober
Rae-ann & Scott Allen
Sheryl Berkowitz
Sindy Malin
Stephanie Hudson
Sue Harrison
Sue Rubin
Sue Silver
Sue & Rich Coppola
Tara & Ira Weiner
Toby & Barry Farman
Tonyette & James Wolfson
Wendy Rutkin
Wendy & Bill Stone
And thanks, too, to our Raffle donors…who deserve our support, as well!
99 Restaurant, Anywhere
Archie Moore’s Restaurant, Anywhere
Banana’s Ice Cream, Wallingford
Big Y, Anywhere
BJ’s Wholesalers
Breakfast Nook, North Haven
Bruegger’s Bagels, Wallingford
Cafe Ra, Wallingford
Chili’s Restaurant, Anywhere
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
CT Power & Sport, Wallingford
Dave Fried, DMD, Wallingford
Finger Nail Salon, Fairfield
Fratelli’s Restaurant, Wallingford
Gaetano’s Tavern on Main, Wallingford
Gouveia Vineyards, Wallingford
Half Moon Cafe & Restaurant, Wallingford
Husky Cleaners & Tailors, North Haven
Jake’s Tavern, Wallingford
Jay Peak Resort, Jay VT
Knucklehead’s Restaurant, Wallingford
Laskara Restaurant, Wallingford
Los Mariachi, Wallingford
Massage By Kimberly, Wallingford
Michael’s Trattoria, Wallingford
Mr. D’s Cupcakes & Bakery, Wallingford
Neil’s Donuts, Wallingford
OLA, Wallingford & Orange
On Track Karting, Wallingford
Purest Float, Trumbull
Quarry Ridge Golf Course, Portland
San Souci Restaurant, Meriden
Scrubbing Bubbles Car Wash, Wallingford
Subway, Anywhere
Tata’s Restaurant, Wallingford
Thompson’s Candy, Anywhere
Vinny’s Deli, Wallingford
Wallingford Bowl, Wallingford
Westbrook Lobster, Wallingford
Wood ‘n Tap, Anywhere
Wynn Schoolnik
Yale Cancer Center
Starbuck’s, Meriden