Newcomers Club will get to know restaurateur and philanthropist Bill White
What: Newcomers Club of Greater Park City Annual Luncheon
When: 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11
Where: Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge, 7600 Royal St.
Cost: $45 for members; $55 for nonmembers for reservations made before Sept. 4
Mail: Checks made to Newcomers can be sent to Kathie LaLonde, 6641 N. 2200 West, Park City, UT 84098
Members of the Newcomers of Greater Park City will get a chance to learn about restaurateur and philanthropist Bill White when gives the keynote speech at its annual membership luncheon on Sept. 11.
The luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge, 7600 Royal St., and features a buffet with salads, wild mushroom galette, pastas and desserts with vegan and gluten-free options.. The menu will also include vegan and gluten-free options.
White, owner of a number of prominent Park City eateries like Grappa, Windy Ridge Cafe Chimayo, Wahso,Washo, Ghidotti’s and Billy Blanco’s, will talk about his journey from culinary aspirations at 12 years old to founding the Bill White Agriculture, Education and Sustainability Center, a nonprofit that supports and preserves Park City’s agricultural history, according to Newcomers co-presidents Araby Leary and Carol Haselton.
White is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and he traveled Europe, working at fine restaurants in different cities, Leary said.
He later earned a degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, and in 1992, opened an Italian restaurant called Grappa at the top of Main Street, Haselton said.
The co-presidents are happy White, who doesn’t make a lot of public appearances, agreed to address the Newcomers Club next month.
“We’ve been working for three years to get him to speak,” Haselton said. “So this is great to finally come into fruition.”
Leary first emailed White after hearing him talk at one of Recycle Utah’s Green Drinks sustainability events.
“It was almost a fluke that I got a hold of him,” she said. “I had mentioned that I had heard his presentation and asked if he would like to speak at Newcomers.”
The idea of bringing in speakers to the annual luncheon is to honor the club’s members, Leary said.
“We want to thank them for being part of the club, and we also use the event to give them the opportunity to renew their memberships,” she said. “Also, those who aren’t members can become members at the luncheon.”
Haselton, who became a member four years ago, said she has enjoyed presentations from Leadership Park City founder Miles Rademan, Park Record columnist Tom Clyde, Egyptian Theatre Manager Randy Barton and Park City Mayor Andy Beerman.
She joined Newcomers after moving to Park City from Reno, Nevada.
“I was a member of a newcomers club in Reno, and looked online to see if Park City had one,” said Haselton, who had previously lived in Park City 40 years ago. “I was expecting a club based in Salt Lake City, but then I saw there was one here.”
Leary said the Park City club’s name is a misnomer because it isn’t just for people who recently moved to town.
“The first time I attended a Park City Newcomers gathering three years ago, I asked people when they moved here,” she said.
The answers astounded her.
“They would tell me they moved here 18 years ago or 15 years ago,” she said with a laugh. “I would say, ‘But this is a Newcomers club,’ and they would say, ‘We first joined all those years ago, and have made a lot of friends through activities. So we continued to be members.’”
The club offers more than 24 activities that range from evenings of playing canasta to hiking and to fine dining. Information on those activities will be available at the luncheon, Leary said.
“When people arrive, they can browse the tables and mingle during a social hour,” she said. “Then we’ll sit down for lunch and Bill will give his speech.”
Haselton said Silver Lake Lodge is the perfect venue for the luncheon.
“We usually have 150 people, and we need a place where people can see the speaker,” she said. “It’s hard to find a venue that can hold as many people as we do, and making sure the price is in a range that people can afford. And the lodge has always been good to work with.”
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