Rachel Thomas

Pamela Grant
Comm 498G
10 February, 2015
Sugar and Champagne Affair
On Wednesday, February 4th, the districts best dressed stepped out for a night on
the town with their four- legged dates at the Ronald Reagan Building and International
Trade Center. It was all about the dogs at the 14th annual Sugar & Champagne Affair,
which is a non- profit black- tie event that benefits the Washington Humane Society. The
Washington Humane Society is the only congressional- chartered animal welfare agency
in the United States, (Cook, February 6, 2015) and it a leading voice in the fight against
animal cruelty. To date, the event has raised over $800, 000 for the dogs that dont have
voices.
The hosts, Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray, are a philanthropic duo that is
among DCs top activists for humanely raised animals. They are owners of Equinox
Restaurant in Washington D.C., and the Salamander Resort in Virginia. Ellen has been a
volunteer for the Washington Humane Society since she was a student at the University
of Maryland, and is now on the board and is the creator of the signature charity event,
Sugar and Champagne Affair. When I asked Ellen what inspired her to create the event,
she told me about a time that she was watching Animal Cops about 15 years ago when it
dawned on her that DC has those types of officers and that their fine work is rarely
recognized (Kassoff Gray, February 9, 2015). In their book, The New Jewish Table, the
couple expresses their desire to use their culinary creativity and leadership to inspire
change and build the community, (About the Team, n.d.). As a restaurant owner, Ellen
wanted to do something to make people aware of the officers and humane educators in

DC and thank them for the tough job they do and nothing better than sugar, champagne
and dogs to celebrate, (Kassoff Gray, February 9, 2015). They did just that with the
creation of the annual event as combines their concern for animal welfare and they
culinary talents. They branded the event and every year they bring together an array of
skilled DC pastry chefs for a night of endless tastings for man and his best friend.
Sarah Cook, the special events manager for the Washington Humane Society,
planned the event for her first time and I had the pleasure of interviewing her. She
oversaw many committees that assisted her in the planning and preparation, and their
timeline started at the beginning of September. The first item on the Sugar & Champagne
teams to-do list is to seek out restaurants to have a booth at the event. Since the Grays
have been in the restaurant industry for so long they have many culinary connections and
are respected by fellow restaurant owners for their philanthropic inclinations, so it is not
challenging to come by restaurants eager to participate. This year they even had some
new restaurants reach out to them looking to partake, and Cook always runs it by the
Grays but they have never turned down a restaurant. The next item on the checklist is to
find companies to sponsor the event. The event relies heavily on the sponsors to do the
promoting and advertising of the event. To become a sponsor, the company must agree to
make x amount of Facebook and/or blog posts about the event. Some examples of
companies that sponsor the event are Yelp and The Sugar Association. The third item on
the checklist is the design, printing and media portion of the event. The event is branded
so the logo is always the same, but the color scheme and design scheme changes each
year. From there, all the event preparations snowball from October to December and then
everything is finalized in January (Cook, February 6, 2015).

The objectives of the event are to raise money for The Washington Humane
Society, raise awareness of animal cruelty and honor the communitys Humane Heroes.
The guest experience at the event is also a number 1 concern. This year the event raised
$89,000 and had 750+ attendees. The event had a good turn out, but didnt sell out. This
year ticket sales were down, for a number of possible reasons, as the event usually has
around 1,000 attendees (Cook, February 6, 2015). Therefore, their goal for amount of
money raised was also not met as a result of ticket sales being down. The committee is
still in talks about why ticket sales were down and how to improve that next year. So, as
far as measurable event objectives, such as attendance and amount of money raised, they
did not meet this years goal, but they still succeeded in non- measurable goals. The event
raised awareness of animal cruelty by having Washington Humane Society booths there
with flyers on animal abusers who have been charged, and by distributing packets with
the background story of the dogs that were up for adoption at the event. There were five
dogs up for adoption at the event, and usually every year all of the dogs that are up for
adoption get adopted at the event. The event also honors the communitys Humane
Heroes, who are people that have had a positive impact on the lives of animals in the
District and have shown tremendous support for the Washington Humane Societys
programs and services, (2015 Sugar & Champagne Affair, n.d.).
The event planners have the event down to a science, as everything is well
planned from check- in to leaving with a printed photo from the photo booth of you and
your pooch. Volunteers work the check- in booth, coat check, and the Washington
Humane Society accident clean up stations, and the coastguard volunteers for the set
up of the event. The check- in is done electronically on rented iPads through an app

called Social Tables, so the event committee is always sure to have a back- up plan for
anything electronic. In case of wi-fi failure, or another technical difficulty, the committee
prints out hard copies of the guest list and has paperwork for credit card payments. The
event has also partnered with a parking app, Parking Panda, that lets you search for
nearby parking and pay through the app, for a stress- free trip. Anytime an event is held
in DC parking can be a hassle, and a portion of the revenue from the app is donated back
to the Washington Humane Society, so it is a great feature (Give Back to Washington
Humane Society with Parking Panda, January 30, 2015). At the check- in booth, every
attendee is handed a gift bag to collect treats for your furry friends at home. Security is
also not an issue at the event, as fellow K-9s man the doors at the federal building and
very guest is required to go through a security check point. As far as catering to the dogs
goes, the event has water bowl stations and clean up stations shaped as red fire- hydrants.
The event always features a notable emcee, and this year Tommy McFly, the voice of
94.7 Fresh FM returned, along with his Washington- Humane- adopted dog Chip. Tommy
told me that he loves the event because it honors the Humane Enforcement officers, as
they face the lowest of the low in our society, (McFly, February 9, 2015). The
restaurants hand out desserts for the owners, and dog treats for the pups, and all have a
ball at the well- planned event.
All in all, I would give the event a five star evaluation, as it was a doggone good
time. The event is a creative combination of some of lifes greatest things and it achieved
its objectives of educating the audience, honoring distinguished community members,
entertaining supporters, and getting dogs adopted and off the street. The event targets DC
elite by having high-ticket-prices, elite restaurants, and black tie attire. The event is worth

doing, as the venue is donated completely and volunteers work the event from start to
finish. The event has successfully created a base of supporters and volunteers for the
Washington Humane Society, and all proceeds go directly to the Washington Humane
Society. One thing I would improve on is the method of feedback after the event. The
committee doesnt send out a poll or questionnaire about the event afterwards, just a
thank you email for donating and attending the event. Sarah Cook informed me that if
someone has a suggestion for the event or had a problem that they usually reply to the
email, but I think a poll for feedback would be beneficial. Ellen Kassoff Gray told me
that the hardest part of the event is keeping it fresh and fun every year, and that next
year [they] are adding live music to the line- up, but acoustic of course to keep it safe for
the dogs, (Kassoff Gray February 9, 2015) which I think will be a great feature.

Photos by Rachel Thomas

Works Cited
About the Team. (n.d.). Retrieved from Equinox Todd Gray website:
http://equinoxrestaurant.com/about/team/
Cook, S. (2015, February 6). [Telephone interview by the author].
Give Back to Washington Humane Society with Parking Panda [Blog post]. (2015,
January 30). Retrieved from Parking Panda website:
https://www.parkingpanda.com/blog/post/give-back-to-washington-humanesociety-with-parking-panda
Kassoff Gray, E. (2015, February 9). [E-mail interview by R. Thomas].
McFly, T. (2015, February 9). [E-mail interview by the author].
Tommy McFly. (n.d.). Retrieved from 94.7 Fresh FM website:
http://947freshfm.cbslocal.com/ personality/tommy-mcfly/
2015 Sugar & Champagne Affair. (n.d.). Retrieved from Washington Humane Society
website:http://support.washhumane.org/site/PageServer?
pagename=support_specialevents_sugarchampagne