HughE Dillon: How to Score a Signed Baseball From Cole Hamels

On Wednesday, I took a guided tour with the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia of the Comcast Center, a LEED-certified building, the tallest in Philadelphia, and the tallest “green” building in the country at 975 feet.

Karen Dougherty Buchholz, vice president of administration for Comcast was one of our tour guides and educated us on the design of the building as well as the various ways they incorporated a range of “green” elements. One of the most noticeable elements is the increased ceiling heights and large windows that allow more natural light to enter the office space. Also, for employees, Ralph’s Cafe on the 43rd floor offers spectacular views.

ABOVE: A few alumni on the field trip, Marisa Razi, Kelli Coles and Aisha Branham.

Afterward we headed out to Table 31 to enjoy a few drinks. It was a beautiful evening. ABOVE: Andrew Rosenthal, Elise Gilbert, and Brian Lipstein, president and CEO of Henry A. Davidsen. Next week, Andrew heads to Harvard to start work on his MBA.

ABOVE: Matt Carter and Valerie Blassey.

ABOVE: Jim Vesterman, Liberty Place Capital, and Natalie and Inessa Manevich. Jim deferred his education at Wharton to answer a calling to serve in the Marines and in the war in Iraq. He brought home the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for a heroic act of bravery, which was written about in Fortune Magazine in 2006.

ABOVE: Charlene Thambinayagam, Maggie J, and Joy Cannon.

*********************

Last Friday was my birthday, and poor Hallmark must be suffering, as I only received five cards in the mail, but my readers sent nearly 1,000 messages through Facebook & Twitter. In the evening, Mike and I headed to Union Trust to celebrate. We both had steaks, their famous Mac and Cheese and mushrooms. They surprised us with an entire cake to celebrate both our birthdays. On August 13th, Union Trust’s The Mezz bar is having a viewing party for the Food Network’s premiere of Chef vs. City featuring Union Trust chefs Quincy Logan and Chaz Brown. And, while I was at the front desk saying my goodbyes, I noticed a sign promoting an upcoming Cole and Heidi Hamels Foundation event. Diamonds & Denim will be held on September 23rd at Union Trust (not to be confused with tonight’s Diamonds & Denim event being held for Dress for Success at the Waterworks).

Tickets are $300 each (or $500 per couple), but well worth it not only because the Hamels Foundation has a dual mission to provide support for quality education in the U.S. and establish a school in Malawi, Africa, but the entertainment for the night is LeAnn Rimes & Tony Orlando! Plus, everyone who buys a ticket will receive a signed baseball from Cole Hamels. The evening will be emceed by Michael Barkann. For information on tickets, contact: mfalcone@thehamelsfoundation.org.

When I returned home from dinner, I had a celebrity sighting in my building’s lobby: Damon Feldman and Michael Nise with Kim Falco. Feldman is widely known as the guy who puts on celebrity boxing events in the Philly area with such notables as Michael Lohan, Danny Bonaduce, and porn star Gina Lynn. The next match is Thursday night at Pennant East in Bellmawr, NJ. One of Tiger Woods’s mistresses, Devon James, will be making her professional wrestling debut against Susan Finkelstein, who’s now infamous as the “Sex for Phillies World Series Tickets” woman. No word on if she’s wrestled before. Also making an appearance will be Dustin “Screech” Diamond from Saved by the Bell; these days he’s more famous for his 2006 sex tape and appearing on MTV’s Celebrity Fit Club. Tickets are $20. On Wednesday night, they all appear at 7:30 p.m. at a free press conference/party at Cavanaugh’s River Deck on Columbus Blvd. By the way, Michael Nise was the creator of the filmed-in-West-Philly TV show  Dancin’ on Air, which was a very popular teen dance program airing nationally in the ’80s. It’s most famous dancer was Kelly Ripa.

*********************
OUT AND ABOUT
More than 100 people attended Cultures Clothing Cancer Benefit, with proceeds going to the Cancer Research Institute. The party was hosted by founder of Cultures Clothing Alloyius McIlwaine, and included Mike Jerrick, host of Fox 29’s Good Day Philadelphia, Gerald Henderson Jr. of the Charlotte Bobcats, Wayne Ellington of the Minnesota Timberwolves, retired NBA player Gerald Henderson, the CW’s Kharisma McIlwaine, Matt Charette, president of Redfone Records, and Redfone recording artists Just-1 and Nightwalker. There was a silent auction, raffles, and a fashion show at the Moshulu with a fantastic view of the city and the Delaware River.

Read my daily blog about Philadelphia at PhillyChitChat.com, or follow me on Twitter @iphillychitchat for up-to-the-minute info on Philly. It’s people and celeb sightings.(Mmmmbop! Yesterday, I tipped off my readers that the Hanson Brothers were meeting their fans and giving them a tour of South Street at 2:30 p.m.)