Last night, many of the best and brightest of the Hamptons real estate community came together at the fifth annual Privet Hedge Awards Dinner, held at the lovely and swanky Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton. Hosted by Manhattan Media, publisher of Behind the Hedges, Dan’s Papers and AVENUE, it was, as always, a wonderful evening filled with old friends and new.
First up, of course, was cocktail hour. Strolling past the sexy Karma Reveros parked by the entrance, then up the winding staircase to the party awaiting on the second floor, guests found cocktails, wine and AltaNeve prosecco flowing on the balcony, along with delicious bites. Everyone enjoyed themselves greatly, despite the miserable weather.
At dinnertime, hosts Randi Schatz, AVENUE president, and Eric Feil, COO of Dan’s Hamptons Media, welcomed everyone. Daniel Nicholas performed some mentalist tricks to the amazement of the audience–this was a fun extra this year.
Many past winners of the Privet Hedges Awards were in attendance, among them Paul Brennan, Susan Breitenbach, Enzo Morabito, Judi Desidero, Harald Grant, and Tim Davis. (Talk about your lineup of heavy hitters!)
About the time the main courses (we had the filet, which was stellar) were being handed out, it was time to start handing out the awards for this year. John Gicking presented the Big Deal Broker Award to winner Lori Schiaffino; then Carl Benincasa presented the Broker’s Broker to winner Carol Nobbs. Geoff Gifkins presented the Master Marketer award to Robert Canberg.
Carol Nobbs told us, “I would like to thank Manhattan Media, AVENUE, Dan’s, Behind the Hedges and the sponsors for the invitation to the most elegant real estate event in the Hamptons. A special thank you to Carl Benincasa for his wonderful kind introduction. I am thrilled and honored to be included with the previous Privet Hedge winners who have my deepest respect and admiration.”
The Rookie of the Year award was probably the most touching, as Harald Grant got a bit choked up presenting it to his son Bruce. (Excuse us, we have something in our eye….) Finally, the Hall of Fame award went to Mala Sander, presented by Ernie Cervi.
Bruce said, “It’s such an honor to win this award and I’m beyond grateful. Thank you to the whole brokerage community in helping and working with me.”
Mala remarked, “I owe much of my success to the great relationships I’ve built over the years with clients and colleagues alike. It was an honor to be recognized by my peers and colleagues for this wonderful award, and I look forward to continuing the great relationships we have built together.”
Congratulations to all on your well deserved awards! And here’s to a great summer!
