SPREE INSIDER November nights out By Kate Cline Last December Spree published its first Girls Night Out issue, a look at the many ways Western New York women are involved in the community—as well as at the many ways they have a great time. Spree’s Girls Night Out event on November 4, an evening of shopping, food, cocktails, and fun, offers a chance to do both. Scheduled from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens (6461 Transit Road, Depew), the event will feature retail from some wonderful WNY vendors, giveaways, food, and a cash bar. It’s really an ideal way to spend a night out with your friends, browse, buy, and support a truly wonderful local charity— Child and Family Services Haven House, which has been assisting victims of domestic violence for more than thirty years. Tickets are $15, and proceeds, along with your old cell phone donations, will benefit Haven House. Sponsors for the event are BeautyQuest Medispa and Skin Care and Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. Visit www.buffalospree.com or call 783-9119, extension 2202, for more details on this opportunity to start your holiday shopping and maybe indulge in a few things for yourself. Also scheduled for November 4 is the twenty-first annual Athena Awards Luncheon, presented by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. The luncheon honors women in the Buffalo Niagara region who have established professional excellence and selflessly support the goals of other women professionals. This year’s group of nominees is very special: Laura J. Barnum of the University at Buffalo; Molly L. Quackenbush of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site; RoseMarie Burns of Tony Martin Awards, Inc.; Melinda Rath Sanderson of Canisius College’s Women’s Business Center; Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Cindy A. Eller; Sister Denise A. Roche of D’Youville College; Hodgson Russ’s Alice A. Joseffer; Jill M. Syracuse of Independent Health; Shirley A. Mullen of Houghton College; and Kaleida Health’s Connie R. Vari. In addition to the Athena Award, the luncheon will also present the Athena Young Professional Leadership Award to a woman who is an emerging leader and role model in their profession. This, too, is a banner list of nominees: Hodgson Russ’s Christine A. Bonaguide; Corrin Matthews of Extraordinary Change Hypnosis; Buffalo Filter’s Samantha Bonano; Independent Health’s Rebecca Raczkowski; Melissa M. Brinson of the Town of Tonawanda; Amy M. Schmit of the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; Alliance Advisory Group’s Samantha Clark; Caroline M. Szydlo of Brock, Schechter & Polakoff LLP CPAs; and West Herr Automotive Group’s Bethanne Hollis. The luncheon will be held at the Adam’s Mark on Church Street from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and proceeds from the event will benefit Everywoman Opportunity Center, Inc., a not-for-profit agency that strives to help women around WNY achieve economic and personal self-sufficiency. For tickets and information, visit www.thepartnership.org/events or call 541-1770. Last, but certainly not least, is the annual chance to bust out your bell-bottoms, dust off those go-go boots, and take part in the world’s largest retro party: the World’s Largest Disco. This year it’s 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on November 27 at the Buffalo Convention Center—but you probably already knew that. The famed event has been featured on VH-1, the Travel Channel, and in the Wall Street Journal, and boasts the largest dance floor in New York State, illuminated by 500,000 watts of disco inferno. Stay tuned for the announcement of 2010’s special guests. It’s long sold out, but for more information, go to www.worldslargestdisco.com. Spree editorial intern Kate Cline is a sophomore at Medaille College. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top