CELEBRITY MARTINI GLASS AUCTION
The CMGA Story: (569 word count)
As is often the case in matters of the heart, Celebrity Martini Glass Auction (CMGA) all started with dinner and a movie.
Not just any film, but the theatrical release of the highly anticipated feature Sex and the City.
Gathering friends for herscreening event, Brenda Melton asked each to design a martini glass…a toast to Sex and the City’sother “breakout star” – the Cosmopolitan.
Two years later, pleased with how well the first affair went, Brenda decided to ask the films’ stars,Sarah Jessica Parker, Melania Trump, Manolo Blahnik and others,to sign glasses for herSex and the City 2 debut party.
To her delight – they all said yes!
While her soiree was the toast of the town, Brenda’s next move helped her achieve super-star status in Southwest Florida. She offered the signed and decorated glasses to a local charity dear to her heart, the Naples International Film Festival (NIFF).
NIFF worked with Melton to auction off the star-studded glasses as a fundraiser, giving birth to the first-ever CMGA on November 10, 2011.
Over the years, the cast of characters has continued to change while the CMGA remains committed its mission of making a difference through the power of art.
By securing more than 20 martini glasses autographed by A-List celebrities/heroes, designed by artists with the stars in-mind, and auctioned off at an annual event – CMGA not only raises funds for local charities, but the profiles of the artists involved.
In 2012, the CMGA plot changed slightly because NIFF opened their festival with the transformative documentary “Honor Flight: One Last Mission,” telling the tale of a community coming together to fly four World War II veterans to the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C.
Moved by the screening, Melton’s father was in the Air Force and her husband Phil served in the Marines, the CMGA began supporting Collier County Honor Flight, helping fly local WWII, Korean and Vietnam veterans to their memorials.
In 2013, the CMGA line-up changed again when Melton met Joe Kashnow at the NIFF screening of ”Comedy Warriors: Healing through Humor.” The documentary follows five wounded veterans learning to use humor to deal with the aftereffects of war under the expert tutelage of Lewis Black, Zach Galifianakis, Bob Saget and others.
In a conversation after the screening, Kashnow shared his struggles, including trying to secure a service dog.As a result, Melton put him in-touch with PAWS Assistance Dogs and invited Kashnow back for the February 2014 CMGA.
It was at this auction that the wounded veteran met his four-footed companion, Chico, andCMGA raised enough funds to provide an additional seven veteransservice dogs.
But, the CMGA’s milestone year was 2015 when some 200 CMGA fans raised more than $500,000 for PAWS Assistance Dogs and Collier County Honor Flight during the February 8 live auction.
Building on this success, Melton has decided to focus funding from the 2016 event, slated for January 6 at Artis—Naples, on helping more veterans receive service dogs by supporting PAWS Assistance Dogs.
“The CMGA was born out of my love for entertainment, the arts and gratitude for the sacrifices our veterans have made,” explains Melton. “I I’m so very grateful for everyone involved and the lives we have changed through the CMGA. How could any of us have imagined what an immense impact a few films and a martini glass would make in the lives of so many?”
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