Don’t be deceived by their appearance of effortless elegance.
The lovely ladies of the Lyric Women’s Board might make it look easy, but the creation of their triennial Wine Auction — which hits the Civic Opera House on Feb. 24 — is nothing of the sort.
Attention to details, details and more details assures the success of this multi-million dollar venture but demands that the volunteer chairmen invest the same time and charm in their work as a corporate CEO.
So friends no longer expect to find chairman Nancy Milliken of Lake Forest at home during normal working hours. She always seems to be working on the Auction with one of the dozens of event volunteers, the Lyric staff, numerous advisors — Chicago’s top wine enthusiasts — or the official honored guest, His Royal Highness Prince Robert of Luxembourg, managing director of Domaine Clarence Dillon.
This extraordinary volunteer work ethic started with the first Lyric Wine Auction in 1988, founded by Winnetkan Shirley Ryan. It was Chicago’s first charitable wine auction, and with Wine Auction 2006, Lyric continues as a trendsetter — it’s among the first charity wine auctions in the world to put its entire catalog online.
www.lyricopera.org/wineauction
Vice-chairman Susan Oliver (Chicago and Oswego) and Women’s Board president Maxine Farrell (Lake Forest) particularly help shoulder the load, but every board member contributes time or other resources to produce this extraordinary event. That work includes soliciting and thanking (usually with hand-written notes that would make any mother proud) thousands of vintners around the world, the purveyors of luxury consumer items and the owners of fabulous resorts and vacation homes. Or personally handling, describing and storing the valuable lots. Style worthy of Madison Avenue guides the design of the invitations, catalog and all PR materials, and the event’s décor rivals the Lyric’s legendary set design — because the volunteers work closely with Lyric’s world-class professionals.
The result is an evening where anyone can come to dinner with a handsome prince, on Lyric’s renowned stage, and “win” some of the finest wines and luxury vacations in the world. That’s volunteer work that rivals the for-profit efforts of the most accomplished executives.
Susan Blankenbaker Noyes joined Lyric’s Women’s Board soon after attending (and being dazzled by) Wine Auction 1992.
