On Monday October 17th, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin presented their major fundraiser of the year at the Potawatomi Expo Center in downtown Milwaukee. The theme of this year’s fashion entertainment was Tinseltown to Titletown, where the glamour of old Hollywood stars meets the legendary players of the Packers, and the Super Bowl. 

The event sheds light on Goodwill continued commitment to provide services in the greater Milwaukee and Chicago area to thousands of people in need of job training.  In case you didn’t know it, our Goodwill has been providing these services free of charge to the community since 1919 and is the largest of more than 165 Goodwill organizations in North America.  If that isn’t enough to celebrate, I don’t know what is! 

The hard work of the marketing department for Goodwill, which administers this website among other things, made the starry evening possible.  From coordinating silent auction items to making sure that the show itself went off without a hitch, these hard working individuals made it all happen. 

Hosted by Shelley Walcott and Scott Steele of WTMJ 4, (who is the media sponsor for the event along with The Business Journal), the evening was a salute to the magic of the movies presented in a spectacular stage show.  Giant video screens were hung all around the Expo Center, giving all 700 plus people in attendance a great view of the evening’s many festivities on the enormous runway.  Vintage film clips were shown throughout the night, as well as music scores from countless classic films. 

Volunteer Coordinator extraordinaire, Cheryl Axford, of Goodwill helmed the vintage costume fashion show that featured many of the amazing dresses, gowns, suits and hats from the meticulously cared for collection in her charge.  Ms. Axford has energy to spare as she directs around 65 benefit shows per year, using volunteer models wearing pieces from the gigantic costume archive.  Energetic and generous to a fault, she represents the best of what Goodwill stands for in the community at large, and her selection of clothing is absolutely unbelievable.  Quite an accomplishment by any standards and her fashion segment at the “Retro Rendezvous” has been a major feature for eight years and counting.

This year in celebration of the Packer’s Super Bowl XLV victory, we had the pleasure of seeing Wide Receiver Donald Driver, his wife Betina, who is Honorary Chair for the event, and their three children, Cristian, Christina, and month old daughter Charity, modeling in the fashion line up for Boston Store.  Along for the ride were Driver’s teammate, Tight End Jermichael Finley, his wife and son! Super Bowl I and II’s Running Back Donnny Anderson, Wide Receiver and Punter Boyd Dowler, Offensive Guard Jerry Kramer, and Halfback Paul Hornung also strutted their stuff on stage.  On hand to represent Super Bowl XXXI Champions were Wide Receiver Antonio Freeman, Defensive End Santana Dotson and Fullback William Henderson who enjoyed hanging out backstage with all the other players from the Championship Teams, as well as doing their own version of the Tinseltown shuffle on the stage.

Rounding out the evening was a presentation from Boston Store women’s apparel that featured outfits inspired by contemporary films and television shows such as “Sex and the City”.  The fashions and the models were stunning, spotlighting an array of sparkly, sassy ensembles fit for a Hollywood queen!

Next time you’re shopping at the Goodwill Retail Store & Donation Center near your home, just keep in mind that Goodwill operates 44 stores in Southeastern Wisconsin and Illinois, and your purchases helped impact the lives of nearly 42,000 people that were provided services through Goodwill.  Remember that 88 cents of every dollar received is reinvested in community programs and services, and after all, what can be more fashionable than that?

askbjorn@goodwillsew.com

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