Manchester Community College's 20th Evening of Fine Wines Biggest and Best Yet

had an ambitious goal for its 20th annual Evening of Fine Wines Friday - to raise more than $200,000 to help support student programs and academics at the state's largest community college. 

Well, before the doors even opened Friday, organizers said they had tallied more than $217,000 in donations for the event (although organizers estimated that they would have to surpass the $250,000 figure mark to reach their goal once all costs for the evening were factored in). 

"This evening and the money that it raises helps us support student scholarships, programs and innovations that we are unable to support on their own," said Manchester Community College President Gena Glickman. 

The gala evening featured a plethora of wine tastings, as well as silent and live auctions, to raise funds for scholarships and program enhancements at the college. Wines from Connecticut and around the globe were on display at more than 25 tasting tables, as were a variety of beers and other liquors, while elegant hors d’oeuvres and desserts, prepared by MCC Culinary Arts students, were served throughout the evening. Music for the event was also provided by MCC's music department, while most of the food and drinks were donated. 

"Aside from being a fun event that brings in people from all over, tonight is going to help us provide 200 $1,000 scholarships to local students," said Gene Mazur, president of the Manchester Community College Foundation, Inc., which spends pretty much the entire year planning and preparing for the event. 

The Rockville Bank Foundation served as the title sponsor for the event, and Rockville Bank President and CEO William H.W. Crawford, IV, served as the evening's honorary chair. Other dignitaries who attended including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his wife Cathy, Congressman John Larson and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. Mazur called the event, "the who's who of the east of the river crowd." 

Malloy said that the state's community college's would play an integral part in educating Connecticut's workforce for the jobs of the 21st century, while Blumenthal said he has been so impressed by his numerous visits to MCC and its many state-of-the-art programs that he plans to invite President Obama to tour the campus. 

"This is the event that people wait for every year around here," said Bettsy Treiber, a member of the Manchester Community College Foundation and a former co-chair. "Aside from being a great community event, it would be very difficult for us to find other ways to fill that funding gap and support many of those programs and services without this event."