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There's a big roast happening October 24th in Kelowna and Maxine DeHart is the main course. The city councillor, columnist and woman-about-town is serving herself up for an evening of good humour, that's for a good cause.
DeHart organized her Drive-Through Breakfast for 20 years. The event raised $850,000 over the years, and now that it's gone, she is pleased to have a way to step up for the United Way in another way.
As for the fact that it's a roast? "I'm not sure if I should be happy," wondered DeHart, "or if I should start crying."
But Jude Brunt, the Community Investments Manager for the United way, said she has nothing to worry about.
"None of our roasters are going to be the bullying kind," assured Brunt. "It's a simmer, not a roast."
But few people in Kelowna have the multitude of community connections that Maxine DeHart does, so United Way Marketing Manager, Marianne Dahl, said there are plenty of stories.
"I have a couple that have com into my inbox already, said Dahl, "that are hilarious! And it's clean and it's classy."
She is thrilled to see Maxine become the first celebrity for what may become an annual event. "We get to honour and roast Maxine and raise the vital funds we need," added Dahl.
During the course of the interview about the roast, there were some hints dropped suggesting the Drive-Through-Breakfast may return in some fashion.
"You might see something," said DeHart, in an attempt at subtlety. "We're just not sure what."
Not only did she organize the drive-through event for all those years, but she would always be the first to donate a thousand dollars to an organization that reaches more people than other any single charity ever could.
"The United way touches the lives, in a positive way, of about 85,000 people up and down the valley every year," said Brunt, "through programs for babies right up to programs for seniors."
And there are some very important issues that United Way charities help address.
"Issues being mental health, being homelessness, being domestic violence, social isolation," listed Brunt, "many of those kind of hard-hitting social issues that we have in our community that can be solved by a whole variety of programs."
DeHart said even if you can't make it to the roast at Willowstone Academy and First Lutheran Church on Oct. 24, you can still be a part of it.
"I know I have several friends that wanted to come, but they can't. And they've dropped me off cheques," said DeHart. "So I'm really encouraging people if you can't come, you gave me cheques at the drive-through, please do a donation."
For more about the event click here.
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