Dinner with Cindy Crawford

Saturday evening I attended the 10th Annual Rick Weiss Humanitarian Awards Gala in Palm Springs. Supermodel Cindy Crawford was this year's honoree. Cindy was honored for her devotion to leukemia charities, particularly to help sick children of poor families. This photo (at left) is Cindy holding her Rick Weiss Humanitarian Award.

The Rick Weiss Humanitarian Awards raise over a million dollars a year for charities such as Project New Hope, the Desert AIDS Project, American Heart Association, Guide Dogs of the Desert, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Shelter from the Storm Battered Women's Center, Project Angel Food and many other groups as well. There are a number of charitable fundraisers in the Palm Springs area each year. For example, in just three years, Palm Springs area residents have raised $15 million to for a children's hospital, so while these Awards Galas sometimes seem glitzy, they do raise a great deal of money. The cost of producing these events are typically underwritten by corporate sponsors, so most of the money does reach the charitable organizations.

above left: The beautiful Daisey Fuentes introduces supermodel Cindy Crawford- this year's Rick Weiss Humanitarian Award recipient. above right: Cindy Crawford accepts the award and explains her passion for helping others. Our Congresswoman Mary Bono-Mack also attended the dinner, but I didn't bother Mary for a photo.
Details of the Gala Dinner...

above: the centerpieces on each table had beautiful white roses with a cobalt blue vase that glowed in the evening light. The red boxes were from Baccarat crystal. They donated champagne flutes as gifts for every attendee.

above: We started with a refreshing tomato, mozzarella and basil salad, and had stuffed chicken for the entree.

above: delicious desserts-a chocolate bombe and a fruit tarte
Previous Award Honorees:
Without a doubt, we have a number of big name celebrities in Palm Springs who help support all these charities. Here are a few that were honored by the Rick Weiss Humanitarian Awards in the past:
2000: Suzanne Somers
2001: Leeza Gibbons
2002: Judith Light & Larry King
2003: Mary Hart & Magic Johnson
2004: Priscilla Presley & Sherry Lansing
2005: Eric McCormack & Sidney Poitier
2006: Berry Gordy, Jon Shestack & Portia Iversen
2007: William Shatner & Sharon Stone
Relaxing after the Gala...

above: caught on film, relaxing by the fire on a perfect evening in the desert. I call this my "Playboy Pose". I should have asked Cindy Crawford to join us for a martini!
-Rick Rockhill