So my buddy is telling me about this amazing dinner coming up on Feb. 19 and I can hardly believe my own ears. He says, “Yea, for just $5 you get a catered meal from Biaggi’s restaurant.”
“Are you kidding?” I exclaim. “I love that place!”
“I am as serious as not wearing a seatbelt,” he said, “and the best part is every penny of that $5 goes to Riley.”
But all he knew was the date, the restaurant and the price. I had to find out why would Biaggis do that? He pointed me towards a reliable source whose name sounded vaguely familiar.
A senior at Carmel High School, Matt Klineman is the man responsible for what appears to be a too good to be true opportunity. I cautiously contacted Matt, ready for my $5 dinner hopes to be dashed.
As he came on the line, I remembered; Matt Klineman is famous for his good works and volunteer spirit. As I held my breath, waiting for the $5 gets you a plate but silverware is additional line, he didn’t let me down. He said, “$5 is absolutely correct and this event is much more than just a meal. It is going to be a fun-filled evening for the whole community. We even have casino games and a silent auction.”
Wow, I thought. Dreams really do come true. He went on to explain Auction Dinner for Riley is a precursor to Carmel High School’s highly successful Dance Marathon. This is the 10th anniversary of DM and Matt and his committee hope to contribute $15,000 towards the overall success of the epic, on your feet experience. But in order to be successful, every man, woman and child in Carmel (well, 500 of them at least) must come to the Freshman Center at CHS from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 19. There is a sign-up procedure to insure your ticket at http://bit.ly/CDMauction.
This year, two Riley kids are actually taking on major responsibility of the event. Katie Tortice is Event Chair and Henry Curts is Speaker of the House. Forty Carmel High School government Cabinet members round out the Dance Marathon Committee.
Matt wanted to be clear who is invited when he said, “Dance Marathon is for CHS students, but the Auction Dinner for Riley is open to anyone. The dinner is a great way for the entire community, including adults, to support the kids at Riley.” Good Day, Carmel.
