What was so neat about it was that the event, titled Food.Shelter.Hope., was being held at The Riviera, the 20s-era movie theater that sits across King Street from and is run by Charleston Place Hotel. And the keynote speaker for the evening was Frank Abagnale - the guy who they based the movie "Catch Me If You Can" on. As you may remember, Frank was very creative at finding ways to impersonate professionals (including Pan Am Airline Pilots) and ultimately was arrested and tried for check forgery in three countries. After serving part of his prison term in the US (after already having served prison terms in Switzerland and France) he was invited by the FBI to work for them as an advisor on forgery in exchange for his freedom. He has been working for them for the past 30 years and is the foremost expert on check forgery in the country.
He is a true beliver in second chances and wanted to support the work of Crisis Ministries by headlining their event.
It was a wonderful evening of fun and laughs, seeing old friends and raising money for a great cause. Here are some pictures of the event...
Before Frank spoke, they ran the full preview of the movie, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. We sat in the movie theater seats and they even served popcorn.
Then Frank told us his life story from his perspective. It was riveting, and we were all captivated by it. They are now in the process of turning his story into a Broadway show.
This is me and Frank...and some really good sports from the shelter staff who dressed the part of airline pilot and stewardess for the evening and had their pictures taken with everyone.
Following Frank's speech, they opened the curtains behind the podium to reveal a huge ballroom reception. We enjoyed southern delicacies such as shrimp and grits and an amazing crab dip, and there was a live auction and inspiring program. It was fabulous way to spend a night in Charleston.
1 comment:
Thanks! It was a great night, wasn't it?
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