Where we have come from...  1993 to Today!

16 Years Supporting APQC The inspiration for the event known today as the "Red Ribbon Dinner" was planted at a "We Care" T-shirt award party in 1993.  That awards event was hosted by Quad Cities AIDS Coalition, the precursor to AIDS Project Quad Cities (APQC), and Cafe Continental in Davenport, Iowa.  The owners and operators of Cafe Continental, Lisa, Clarence, and Randy Johnson, and Mike Sandbach, approached persons present at that event and suggested a larger event to benefit those affected by AIDS.  Later in 1993 an informal meeting by Dave Fletcher, Jim Kling, Bruce Noah, and Clayton Peterson along with the staff of Cafe Continental planned the inaugural benefit... "A Red Ribbon Thanksgiving". The event was held in November 19, 1993 serving about 35 people.  Instead of selling tickets reservations were taken. The donation of $35.00 was taken at the door.  For that Chef Larry Merica created a wonderful Beef Wellington that was served by Michael Sandbach and Scott Rutledge.  Organizers were asked to assist at the evening's end.  Dishes were done in the small kitchen; events of the evening were celebrated in song, while scrubbing the pots, pans and dishes. In 1994 Cafe Continental hosted what was now an annual event on April 19, 1994.  This event included the T-shirt awards presentation and was simply called "Red Ribbon Dinner and Awards Presentation".  The public was invited to a wine and cheese party before the dinner.  About 80 people attended the second event.  A harp musician was added as entertainment during the dinner hour.  Jim Buxton sat in the entry open staircase of the Cafe.  No speakers were planned, however before the dinner was served Dave Fletcher and Clayton Peterson offered a salutation and a thank you and Ron Friichtenicht led grace.  The beginnings of sponsored giving started with dinner wine provided by Ken Wake and the Quad City Downs.  The servers at Cafe Continental as well donated their time to this event. The event for 1995 was moved to LeFigaro in Rock Island, Illinois and the date changed to the Sunday preceding the Martin Luther King Holiday since many people have that day off work, including the organizers!.  About 180 people attended that year.  Dave Fletcher is credited with a speech that evening celebrating the growth of the event, and the willingness of participants to contribute.  Tickets to the event were $35.00 and included the patron's choice of either Prime Rib or Dover Sole.  The participants welcomed the variety offered by a fully stocked bar!  Chocolate mousse was served for desert.  Several centerpieces were auctioned off establishing the auction element.  "The Cocktails" (Scott Rutledge, Curtis Proctor, John Walston, and Ron Kettelsen )provided entertainment harmonizing during a brief program. The next year the success of the event forced a move to a larger venue, the Gourmet House, Rock Island, Illinois.  Approximately 240 people attended in 1996.  The entree that year offered the choice of New York steak or Orange Roughey.  Craig Mekow made the suggestion and facilitated the introduction of artwork for a silent auction.  The auction featured about 12 pieces of donated artwork.  A painting by David Harris caused a welcomed bidding war!  Rupert, the owner of the Gourmet House, entertained at the closing of the event.  The volunteer organizers planned a return to The Gourmet House for a second year in 1997.  The event was arranged and tickets sold, however... the IRS had a New Year's resolution to close the Gourmet House.  The Red Ribbon Dinner organizers, provided with the two weeks notice, scurried to come up with an alternate location.  With the help of two employees of The Dock Restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, Ron Dinot and Scott Swanson, a last minute agreement was reached and the event was moved there. Word of mouth and the telephone were used to convey the change, as well as a note posted on the doors of the Gourmet House.  Neil Christiansen coordinated the art auction, this year increased to 22 items, and was now part of the infamous art auction.   The Dock Restaurant also donated a large bottle of wine that was auctioned by Tim Hart.  Cheryl Parnell informed guests numbering about 260 of the AIDS Project and its work in a brief speech. For 1998 Dawn Crawford introduced the idea of soliciting the artists involved in the Riverssance Art Fair for donated pieces of art.  Dawn introduced David Harris, then president of APQC Board of Directors, to the artists and organizers of the event.  Dawn Crawford, David Harris, and Neil Christiansen collected and coordinated the artwork for display and silent auction.  Approximately 50 pieces were gathered and auctioned.  The Dock again hosted the evening, with entree for the evening being a Filet of beef or Barbacoa Salmon.  Dr. Louis Katz, of the Quad Cities Virology Center, gave a presentation on the current AIDS pandemic and the introduction of some of the new drug therapies.  Performer Darlene Breuwet provided entertainment, playing and singing at the piano.  A T-shirt design competition for "We Care" (another annual fund raiser for APQC) was held with entries voted on by the dinner's attendees to provide a link to the other major fundraising event for AIDS Project Quad Cities.  In 1999, as 280 people once again enjoyed the hospitality of The Dock Restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, Miss Kate Schindler, the reigning Miss America, spoke.  Miss America had chosen AIDS awareness as her platform and was touring the country providing positive exposure to what had been an unjustly stigmatized disease.  The chef at The Dock provided a menu of either Filet of Beef or Painted Sweet Lips and Darlene Breuwet again entertained the crowd with her piano playing and singing.  The art auction continued to grow with close to 90 pieces of art offered in the silent auction.   The Dock was overflowing by 2000 with close to 400 attending.  This was to be the last year for The Dock as the Red Ribbon Dinner once again was outgrowing the available space.  The menu offered Prime Rib or Red Snapper and The Steady Rollin' Blues Band preformed to the delight of the crowd.  The Great Art Auction had swelled to 100 or more Items.  The year's speaker was the US Representative for western Illinois, Lane Evans, thanks in no small part to Eric Nelson, an APQC board member, who coordinated his arrival. 2001 arrived with a move to the Holiday Inn, Davenport Iowa.  With attendance up to 500 people and an increase in the amount of artwork donated, approximately 110 pieces, a larger facility was a necessity.  The artwork was displayed on the stage in the ballroom and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin spoke.  Prime Rib, Grilled Salmon, or Pasta Primavera Portabella was offered and entertainment during the dinner was provided by Jayne Piche and Shane Johnson on guitars, Matt Noah on piano and Bob Stone on flute.  The weather threatened the event with fog and possible rain and ice however the room filled up.  Still it was a record year in attendance and income ($37,600). 2002 had the Red Ribbon Dinner moving on to an even bigger and better locale.  The dinner was held at the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf, Iowa.  It was a sold out event with 600 attending, limited not by the generosity of our patrons, but the available space!  There were 140 items in the silent art auction which had grown in past years to include gift baskets containing gift certificates and other such non-art items.  Dinner was a choice of Filet of beef, Orange Roughey or Alfredo Linguini with artichoke hearts.  The Steady Rollin' Blues Band was back for a repeat performance.  Joining the program was Greg Christensen as emcee and Sharon Maxwell-Henkel as guest speaker.  Greg came from Atlanta, Georgia, where he works as a producer for CNN’s Larry King Show.  Sharon was from the St. Louis, Missouri area and spoke about her life as a person living with AIDS and her experiences with drug trials.  Funds raised at the Red Ribbon Dinner & Great Art Auction in 2002 set yet another record at $54,500.  (Joe Breuwet & Laura Silverberg - Event co-chairs) The 10th Anniversary of the RRD was marked in 2003.  With the dinner hosting 600+ people, the planning committee also needed to expand.  New people brought many new and exciting ideas to the dinner.  The “Fund A Need” section of the Live Auction made its debut bringing in over $20,000.  The image of the dinner also took on a new face with a new RRD logo and invitations to our guests by mail.  The guests enjoyed their choice of Filet of Beef, Baked Orange Roughy or Cheese Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomato Sauce.  The Steady Rollin’ Blues Band entertained throughout the pre-dinner cocktail hour and Dr. Tony Mills of California, spoke after dinner to a crowd that generously donated over $75,000.  (Joe Breuwet & Laura Silverberg - Event co-chairs) 2004 George Weiss Vando, a researcher working on HIV prevention projects with youth in the Los Angeles area, was the speaker to, again, another gathering of 600 + people.  Mr. Vando also performed his 1 man play to a local crowd at ComedySportz the night before the dinner.  The dinner served was Filet of Beef, Salmon with a Lemon Dill Sauce and Cheese Ravioli with Pesto.  Ellis Kell and friends performed before the dinner that raised close to $100,000.  (Joe Breuwet & Laura Silverberg - Event co-chairs) For 2005 automation was brought to the dinner.  Ticket sales were done on-line and both guest check-in and check-out were computerized.  Some of the changes took a little getting used to, which reflected in lower ticket sales, but all in all the transition was very successful.  Instead of bringing in a speaker for the dinner, "Miss Richfield 1981" made her appearance... and what a hit she was.  As she performed her rendition of “Love”, spelling the letters out with her legs and standing on her head, the crowd was not only won over but had to stand up and get involved.  The cocktail entertainment was “Funktastic” and Filet of Beef Medallions, Pan Seared Sea Bass and Tortellini Portabella were served for dinner.  The dinner raised just over $78,000.  (Joe Breuwet & Laura Silverberg - Event co-chairs) We saw 2006 start with a new emcee, Kai Swanson.  The dinner brought in a whopping $103, 000. Ron Madow Society Jazz entertained during the cocktail hour and Filet of Beef, Pan Seared Sea Bass and Mushroom and Cheese Ravioli was served for the dinner course.  APQC caseworker, Monica Wainwright brought up the energy in the room with an emotional speech that kicked off the Fund A Need portion of the Live Auction helping it raise over $30,000 alone.  The evening was rounded off with the hilarious comic act of Jim David, a nationally known comic coming out of NYC.  (Joe Breuwet - Event chairman) The weather in 2007 did not exactly cooperate with us, with dire predictions of an impending winter storm scaring some away, the brave still donned their muckalucks and babbushkas and ventured out.  Attendance was down slightly from 2006, but more money was raised per capita than last year!   Approximately $100,000 was raised, and yet another record share raised by the Fund-A-Need bidding frenzy.  Pre-dinner entertainment was provided by Lojo Russo, a former Minneapolis musician now residing in the QC's.  Another wonderful meal from the Isle consisting of the patron's choice of molasses marinated Beef Filet, savory Baked Salmon, or delicious Portabello Stuffed Ravioli in a Boursin & tomato cream sauce.  Dinner was topped off with a decadent piece of Tiramisu!  A successful live auction was followed by a return performance by "Miss Richfield 1981" culminating in her version of L*O*V*E while standing on her head!  (Mark Sorenson - Event chairman) "A Night On Broadway", 2008's theme marked several first for the dinner.  Most notably, the application of a theme to the evenings festivities.  Secondly, to answer the requests of many patrons, the event was moved from it's traditional Sunday night to a more socially accommodating Saturday night, and for the first time in seven years, the venue was changed.  And lastly, although not a first, Mother Nature blessed the evening with, what for January was, fabulous weather!  The evening kicked off at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport and as guests arrived via the red carpet (literally), they were met by our very own faux E-TV correspondents, "Mel & Dee Licious".  They had little choice but to stroll about the atrium of the venue, listening to Lojo Russo back for her second year entertaining the cocktail crowd,  as the dining room was kept locked until close to dinner time.  When the doors were thrown open with a flourish, the patrons poured in to a veritable star-lit night, as 1000's of twinkle lights lit the room.  The tables and chairs were dressed out in crisp white linens and a mix of red & white chair covers.  Sponsored tables were decorated with custom velvet and glass centerpieces and vases of flowers.  The dinner itself was outstanding, as attendees have come to expect from the RRD.  It featured their choice of Tri-color peppercorn dusted N.Y. Strip, Caesar Swordfish, or Eggplant Parmesan.  The dessert, a Tiramisu tort was decorated with a specially made chocolate medallion featuring a red ribbon design.  After a very successful auction, the crowd was entertained by Ms Shayna Steele, a Broadway singer actually "on loan" to us from the Divine Miss M (Bett Midler)!  Shayna having been hired by Bett to perform backup in her new Las Vegas show.  After Shayna wowed the audience with her performance she hosted a by-invitation-only soirée in her hotel suite.  Overall, with attendance right at the 500 mark, gross proceeds for the night topped $120K!  (Mark Sorenson - Event chairman) TO BE CONTINUED... in 2009

The 16th Annual Red Ribbon Dinner & Great Art Auction will be held January 10, 2009 at Davenport's RiverCenter.   Catered once again by the talented culinary staff at the Radisson. This year's theme will be...  "Over The Rainbow".  

Starting in October 2008, you can make reservations online or call or mail in your requests, with payment, to the APQC office... but don't dawdle! Seating is limited and sponsored tables in the Diamond, Emerald & Ruby groups will be limited.

All seating is sold on a first come, first served basis and must be paid for at the time the reservations are made.

Hope to see you there!

2008's "A Night On Broadway"
Kai Swanson, emcee