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Grapes on the Gridiron
Lori and Terry Davis (Grapes on the Gridiron)
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Dennis and Linda Allen (Grapes on the Gridiron)
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Rob and Susan Grachanin (Grapes on the Gridiron)
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Tina Fedj, Jeff Fullam and Denise Oktavec
(Grapes on the Gridiron)
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Hattie Larlham/Our Lady of the Wayside
“Grapes on the Gridiron”
For the second year, Akron’s Hattie Larlham and Avon’s Our Lady of the Wayside combined forces for Grapes on the Gridiron. The event promised to celebrate friends, fine wines and football and delivered all three.
Held at Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame, the event helped to raise more than $30,000 for the organizations which share similar missions. Guests from Lorain County did not mind the drive to Canton where the entire museum was at their disposal.
The gregarious CEOs, Terry Davis of Wayside and Dennis Allen of Hattie Larlham, were like matchmakers, introducing board members, volunteers, staff members and supporters to one another. They had strong competition with the allure of the museum’s exhibits that drew guests to theaters and games. Spread out over four major areas, the event had three dozen wineries represented. The tasting stations were staffed almost entirely by knowledgeable experts from the wineries or their sales representatives, and guests learned a lot.
Generous grazing stations and a silent auction (mostly sports themed) helped complete the night. In a brief program in one of the museum’s theaters, guests learned about the common work of Our Lady of the Wayside and Hattie Larlham. Both provide many diverse services to children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. STORY BY ART THOMAS. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT MULLER
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