One of the cool things about being considered a “celebrity” is that you get asked to lend your name and talents to happy events and charities. And when the two are combined it’s the best of both worlds.

Such was the case with a recent appearance. A good friend of mine, Donna Drake-Dunninger (television producer, voice over talent, actress, artist and in this case, director of Public and Media relations for the Melting Pot) asked me if I would do the honors of cutting the ribbon for the VIP Grand Opening of the first Melting Pot Restaurant on Long Island, which also happened to be the biggest Melting Pot restaurant in the Country (out of 125). The occasion was dual purpose. Not only would this be their official opening but also a check was going to be presented to the American Cancer Society, as part of their commitment to supporting philanthropies within their community.

Since my Dad died of Cancer, this foundation has always held a special place in my heart. I was thrilled and honored to do the event.

Donna knew that November has been a crazy work month for me…with different type of gigs every day. So she was fine with the fact that I’d have to make a short and fast appearance. (Hey, who better to do that than the fastest talking female?)

I promised to entertain the folks with a taste of my fast-talking, cut the ribbon, do press photos, introduce the key players, say hi to the guests and stay for at least 2 hours. (Which I guess is not so short of time.) Then I’d sample the food (Okay this part I wanted to do), then drive home to pack and get ready for my trip to Minneapolis in the morning.

The event took place on a Tuesday evening. That morning I did a radio show, and then headed over to Queens to check on the progress of my Mom’s surprise kitchen that I am building, and then drove back to Putnam to make dinner for my Mom…then off to Farmingdale, Long Island for the ribbon cutting.

Donna had sent out invitations to the community and had notified the local press. She wasn’t sure how big the turn out would be…but was expecting a good size crowd of charitable fondue lovers.

Well, turns out a TV crew from Channel 55 (The big station on Long Island), and several of the local newspapers were in attendance. I guess they also agree that fondue and donations make a good combination.

I was supposed to arrive at the Melting Pot at 4:15 for the ribbon cutting. A local accident turned my two-hour drive into two and a half hours. Thus making a relaxing drive into a game of beat the clock. Add on top of that the fact that I had to go to the bathroom really badly, and you have one heck of a countdown situation.

I got off route 110 in Farmingdale, as per my instructions (God forbid I use my GPS….)…I was hoping that I would spot the place with no problem. Sure enough as I was trying to dial Donna on the phone to tell her I was near, I see the Melting Pot sign glaring at me from across the street. I quickly (but legally of course) make a U-turn and pull into the lot at 4:17. Whew, not bad.

I run inside, quickly B-line to the bathroom and then am ready for the on camera cutting ceremony. Of course, the photographers and news crew were already there.

As we stood outside ready to snap the picture, I was introduced to all the key players; The owners, Barry Brian, Jeff, Charlie, Dale and Bill; the management team of Eileen Pelcher, Rich and Rachel, the COO of the Melting Pot – Bob Johnston, the American Cancer team of Marie Cimaglia, Sylvia Diaz and Dee McCabe (Regional VP) and the press, the staff, etc. At that moment, I was wishing I had studied my memory course a tad better.

TV 55 recorded the event…with everyone gathered outside, Brian Bielanski, read a proclamation that was given to the Melting Pot, from county executive – Steve Levy. The proclamation was in honor of going charitable contributions in the past to St. Jude’s Children’s homes, and now to the American Cancer Society.

Once that was read, I was handed a pair of “Land of the Giant” scissors, and was supposed to snip the huge pink ribbon and welcome everybody to inside.

Well that was the plan in a perfect world. I had to attempt it 3 times before the ribbon actually cut. Talk about embarrassing. And to think, I work out. It’s not like I don’t have scissor cutting abilities…but for some reason, this was a stubborn ribbon, either that or they should have gotten the Ginzo Knife sharpening tool. Of course, I joked about not being able to cut it on the first try. Cameras of course were rolling…so I won’t be surprised if it shows up on some blooper show.

Finally with the ribbon cut…the Melting Pot was now officially opened. The crowd poured in…hundreds of them.

They came in, partook in the festivities, which included, sampling the delicious fondues, hor d’oeuvres, fine wines and tasty cocktails.

As you can imagine the lines formed quickly around the food table. Not to be outdone, I was in line myself. Hey, you gotta be crazy not to eat at an event like this. I stood in line and joked with guests. Invited them to walk around and check out the place.

Of course, I always had a full plate as I told them this,”Come-on, what type of presenter would I be, if I absolutely didn’t love the food there.”

The fondues were delicious with an assortment of melted cheeses…. and in the back room of the restaurant was a table that was filled with chocolate dips…yes, you could dip your choice of brownies, strawberries or pound cake in a variety of various mixes of cookies and cream, white chocolate, and several other sinfully delicious hot, creamy chocolates…Too hell with the diet…there was no way I was missing out on this.

After allowing people to sample their wares, it was time to make the presentation.

Donna introduced me; telling them about my world records and fast-talking abilities…I thanked here and then quickly gave people a sample of my fast talking. Then I introduced the people on stage with me. (I was trying to remember all their names…so I called them out and told them to wave…)

Then I turned it over to their COO, Bob who presented the check of $10,000 big ones to the American Cancer Society. A check that by the way was raised in just 3 days of time! Talk about fund raisers.

After there were more photo opts, eating, chatting and just enjoying the atmosphere.

I didn’t want to leave…but a plane was calling me…so I said my goodbyes, had one last brownie dipped in chocolate (okay had 5 more brownies dipped in chocolate and was tempted to take a doggie bag back to my Mom…but thought it might not look good…) and left.

On my way out I was handed a parting gift bag. When I got home I told my Mom all about the event and described the food, then I looked in the gift bag and smiled, “Hey Mom a gift card…now I can do one better, as soon as I have you up and sprinting around…I’ll take you there, then you can experience a slice of heaven yourself.”

We both laughed. When I turned my back, I saw my Mom slip the gift card in her pocket…nothing like added incentive.