February 24, 2022
Tallahassee Community College recognized four sponsors of the Cleaver and Cork signature fundraising event at the February meeting of the District Board of Trustees this week.
“Cleaver and Cork started as a dinner for 200 people,” said Heather Mitchell, executive director of the TCC Foundation which puts on the event. “It has now grown into four events – The Progressive Cocktail Party, The Toast and Talk, and The Signature Dinner, all of which have sold out and have waiting lists, and The Food and Wine Festival which began last year with just 200 tickets available. This year, we expect 800 people to take part in that event. The results of this are scholarships for healthcare students, funding for some of the vital equipment that we need for our new healthcare simulation center, and support for some of our student athletes. None of this could have happened without the sponsors who have been with us from the beginning and new sponsors who are joining the Cleaver and Cork family this year.”
The Moore Agency is one of the original three sponsors of Cleaver and Cork and has been integral to its success by not only supporting the event financially, but by donating their time and talent to marketing and publicizing it each year.
Richard Moore, CFO and General Counsel of Moore, said, “Moore is so proud to be one of the inaugural sponsors of this event and to support it from the beginning, to see it grow, and to see how the proceeds have helped fund scholarships here at TCC. It’s probably one of the most unique events I’ve ever been associated with and I’m so proud that we can continue to support it each year.”
Capital Regional Medical Center (CRMC) was recognized as the new sponsor of The Toast and Talk event. While CRMC has supported the event by purchasing a table every year, this is the first formal sponsorship of Cleaver and Cork.
Alan Keesee, CEO at HCA Healthcare Capital Regional Medical Center said, “Thank you for your leadership and really enabling the heart of healthcare, as I like to say, because without your nurses, without your lab techs, without the EMS personnel, we don’t exist. We could not have existed these last two years during this pandemic, and quite frankly for 42 years. Thank you on behalf of all of our colleagues for devoting yourselves to educating the next generation of healthcare professionals. We look forward to partnering with you on that and look forward to new, exciting programs as well.”
Also new to the Cleaver and Cork family for 2022 is Peter Boulware Toyota which will sponsor The Food and Wine Festival. Mitchell noted, “We limited the tickets to 200 last year due to the pandemic and we quickly sold out. This year we are expecting 800 people to come and we are so excited that Peter Boulware Toyota committed not only for 2022, but for next year as well.”
Peter Boulware, owner and managing partner of Peter Boulware Toyota, said, “We are so glad to be a part of what you are doing. We are always looking for incredible employees. When you graduate students, you graduate people we can hire. It helps us and it helps the community.”
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare is the second of the original three sponsors of the event. Mitchell said, “TMH has been engaged with us from the very beginning, understanding what it means to support our students through what this event does.”
Steve Haynes, Vice President of Human Resources at TMH, said, “It would be so easy for me to say that Cleaver and Cork is just about the food, because the food is fantastic. The gathering is fantastic, but to me, the food is just a catalyst to bring like-minded people, some who are familiar with the mission of the College and others who are new to the mission, together to talk about that and to celebrate the successes. I think there are three things that are meaningful about events like this. First, it’s heartening to watch family legacies change through education. With these scholarship opportunities, we actually watch the entire future of a family change when someone attends and finishes school at the College. The second is that it adds to the economy of our region. Finally, for me the most important, is that it has the potential to change the healthcare in our region by bringing these young professionals into hospitals and healthcare employment. We are happy to sponsor the event and proud to be a part of it.”
ABOUT CLEAVER AND CORK
Cleaver and Cork is a four-part culinary experience expertly crafted by the Tallahassee Community College Foundation. In its seventh year, TCC is pleased to welcome award-winning chef, television personality, author and philanthropist, Aaron Sanchez with special guest Chef Marc Murphy.
TCC is passionate about creating opportunities for students to define and reach their education and career goals. Cleaver and Cork was born from this vision to further elevate educational program opportunities, scholarships, and teaching and learning facilities. In 2022, all proceeds from all events will go directly to scholarships and equipment for the Tallahassee Community College healthcare programs. For more information and tickets, visit www.CleaverAndCorkTCC.com.