NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 143
Tom and Mary James, who helped support
the gala through Raymond James Financial,
were easy to find on the dance floor, moving
to the music of Grammy-nominated Taylor
Dayne and the talented backup band.
Alan Bomstein, a founding and former board
member of the hall, and his wife Nancy,
who were sponsors through his Creative
Contractors, were glad to see so many
familiar faces in the hall he helped build and
renovate.
Frank Hibbard, the mayor of Clearwater, and
his wife Teresa, who dressed in theme, bid
along with Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton to
have J. Harrison Smith create a bronze bust of
the city’s late manager Bill Horne.
Dr. Brian Maiocco and his wife, Laura, a Ruth
Eckerd Hall board member, were proud to
hear that the hall’s Marcia P. Hoffman School
of the Arts has provided arts education
access to more than 45,000 children.
John England and his wife Beth, who is a
Ruth Eckerd Hall board member, helped
sponsor the gala and hosted a table for
friends, who were treated to an up-close visit
from an exuberant cancan dancer.
Ed Mitchell and his wife Suzan Decker Ross
enjoyed the party before dinner in Ruth
Eckerd Hall’s newly expanded lobby, which
was designed and decorated by her and her
Decker Ross Interiors team from Clearwater.
Bobby Rossi, the hall’s CPO and executive
vice president of entertainment, and his wife
Patricia were proud that Ruth Eckerd Hall
has presented over 300 national artists at
venues throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Liz and Dr. Paul Phillips, a member of
Clearwater Cardiovascular Consultants,
which was one of the gala’s sponsors,
enjoyed the French-inspired Lobster
al’Armoricaine and Gorgonzola and sauce
Soubise steak dinner.
Judith Alpert and her husband Barry, the
board’s immediate past chair and longtime
member of the hall’s board of directors,
helped sponsor the gala, which featured their
son Jason as its auctioneer.