Page 34 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2018

PEOPLE steppin’ out
34 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
Local Dancers
This year’s celebrity dancers include SeaOne CEO Dr. Bruce Hall; Biloxi CPA and community leader Christy Pickering; former model and actress Tara Necaise; community volunteer Jackie Orgler; Design Precast & Pipe, Inc. Vice President Chris Fore; and L.H. Fore Construction CEO Landry Fore. Judges for the dance competition will
One year ago, Segarra was president and CEO of Meet Puerto Rico, the nonprofit organization designed to drive meetings, conventions, trade shows and incentive groups to Puerto Rico. When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last fall, Segarra was there to help guide the tourism industry back. In December, he accepted an offer to become the new CEO of Visit Mississippi Coast, the three-county tourism development bureau serving the Mississippi Coast.
be last year’s celebrity dancers, Dina Cook, Anthony Del Vescovo, LuAnn Pappas, and Sean Tindell.
“Mr. Segarra understands as well as anyone the devastation a hurricane can bring and the importance of having a strong American Red Cross chapter to respond when disaster strikes,” explained Southeast Mississippi Red Cross Chapter Executive Director John McFarland.
“The Moonlight & Magnolias Gala has become a signature event on the Mississippi Coast and it gets better every year,” said gala committee co-chairs Jennifer Lee and Ashley Endris. “An evening of great good, dancing, silent
Just two weeks after last year’s gala, more than 100
GETTING READY FOR
ne of the Coast’s most popular fundraisers, Moonlight & Magnolias, takes place August 18 at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage Casino Resort. It’s the 11th annual gala benefitting the American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
The evening includes food, drink, a silent auction, Dancing with the Stars-type competition among six local celebrity dancers, the introduction of the 2018 Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year, and guest dancing to the music of Starz. Mississippi Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Milton Segarra will serve as the honorary event chairman and WLOX-TV’s Jonathan Brannan will be the master of ceremonies.
auction, a celebrity dance competition and a chance to honor a local humanitarian are enough to make it a hot ticket, but the best part is that we’re raising a lot of money to support our local Red Cross chapter and their work.”
Bruce Hall Christy Pickering Chris Fore
During the evening, the 2018 Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year will be introduced and honored.