The gala fundraiser Denim & Diamonds was a big success for the Columbia Memorial Hospital Foundation, raising a gross total of more than $150,000 to benefit the Foundations Cancer Care Phase 2 project. ATt the event, billed as The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Boots On, 250 guests frolicked on June 1 at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds. The event included a Northwest buffet dinner catered by Chef Chris Holen of Baked Alaska, bidding on silent and live auction items and live music by Cloverdayle.

The honorees of the event were Dr. Ali Dowlatdad and his wife, Farideh. He was a surgeon at CMH for nearly 25 years, and she was instrumental in the formation of the CMH Foundation, serving on its board for nearly 10 years. The couple traveled from Florida for the event.

Some of the liveliest bidding involved a dessert frenzy, with a cake created in memory of the late Jill Graham selling twice for $2,500 each. The combined auctions raised more than $60,000.

Other bidding centered around a weeks vacation at any World Mark resort, an Oregon wine country tour, a stay at a Sonoma, Calif., wine country estate, a private poker party, and a private plane trip to a Seahawks game. A Holland American week-long cruise was chosen by the Best-of-Live raffle winner, Mary Thorsen, as her prize.

The Fund-a-Need portion of the event raised nearly $50,000. Dr. Arthur Hung, an Oregon Health and Science University radiation oncologist, spoke of the importance of cancer treatments close to home. CHM has partnered with OHSU to bring chemotherapy to Astoria and the Cancer Care Phase 2 project will help to expand its cancer treatments.

Dr. Hung was followed by a video of a CMH/OHSU Oncology Center patient Judy Coleman telling of the hardships of her travels for cancer treatment.

Then Shawn Teevin took the stage, explaining that he was substituting for state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who is recovering from an accident. He stated that Johnson had made a generous contribution to start the paddle raise, and that he would match it. Visibly moved by Judy Colemans testimony, he implored the crowd to raise their paddles generously.

Major sponsors of the event were Legacy Health/ Trauma Specialists LLP, OHSU and Teevin Brothers Land & Timber. Benefactor sponsors were Fred Meyer/North Coast, Georgia-Pacific, Pacific Coast Imaging LLC, Professional Credit Service, Rickenbach Construction Inc., Cerner Corporation and PKA Architects. Many other sponsors also contributed to the event.