Celebrity Waiters event raises $100,000 for Abbeville Boys and Girls Club

For 29 years, the Boys and Girls Club’s Celebrity Waiter event in Vermilion Parish has been growing, and this year is no exception.
Residents and businesses in the area have joined forces to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Rodney Simon Unit in Abbeville.
In 29 years, this popular fundraiser has generated over $2 million for the Abbeville Club.
“Our focus each year is to raise as much money as we can for the local club,” said Brian Ford, Operator of Development of the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana.
Last week’s 29th Annual Celebrity Waiter, held at the QSA Center in Erath, raised an incredible $100,000 to fund the Rodney Simon Unit in Abbeville.
“It’s exciting to see that the community continues to be increasingly involved,” Ford said. “They continue to appreciate and understand the importance of having the Boys & Girls Club in their community to help grow the youth who will eventually become the people leading the city.”
The event also honored Jack Gupta, the owner of Eagle Pest Control in Vermilion Parish. Over the past 29 years, Gupta and his wife, Dr. Padmini Gupta, have donated more than $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club in Abbeville. The children of the club presented Jack Gupta with a photo surrounded by words expressing their gratitude for his contributions over the years.
Gupta thanked the children and said, “We need to take care of our children in the parish.”
Celebrity Waiter has grown over the last 29 years, including the amount raised in one night.
The fundraiser was originally held at Black’s, located in downtown Abbeville.  It outgrew Black’s and then moved to Magdalen Place, but also outgrew that building. 
In order to raise more money, it had to move to a larger venue, V.N. Hall, to accommodate more people.
It is now at the QSA Center in Erath for the last couple of years.
With the $100,000 fund-raising night, this year’s event could have been one of the most successful in its 29 years. The auction raised close to $50,000, with two duck hunts donated by Fred Hoyt bringing in $10,000.
Hoyt is one of the founding fathers of the Celebrity Waiters. He, Rodney Simon, former sheriffs Ray Lemaire and Mike Couvillon, and Lynwood Creswell started the event, which raised around $40,000.
“I am elated that it has taken to a new level,” Hoyt, who still attends the Celebrity Waiter. “It is a great cause. The kids who attend the Boys and Girls Club need a place to go. They can go there and get tutored,  along with getting the help they need for school. I am glad to see the Boys and Girls Club still exists.”