Attendees of Holly Ball 2023 will encounter women in fringed, drop-waist dresses and long, beaded necklaces as well as men sporting Fedora hats and suspenders. There will be Roaring 20s-style dancing, hearty eating, and signature cocktails.

 

It will, indeed, be the “bee’s knees.”

 

Other elements include a photo booth, silent action, bourbon tasting, and games – including blackjack.

 

Doing the dealing honors will be Scott Griffiths of United Hospital Center. You may know him as manager of the hospital gift shop, but he also has a few lesser-known skills.

 

The native Canadian and Fairmont State graduate spent several years working at the Casino Niagara in Ontario.

 

“I started off in finance working at the main count room where all the money was kept, then moved into the marketing department the last 12 years, supervising coaches that came in,” Griffiths said.

 

Arriving from regional cities, the buses arrived in droves.

 

“We would have 80 buses on Saturday night; from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo and Toronto,” he said.

 

Back then, gambling was just getting big and visitors to Canada needed only a birth certificate to cross the border. That, of course, changed after 9-11 when security was tightened, but Griffiths remained at the casino until 2008; his duties also including supervising the players’ club, handling the slot machine cards. For years, blackjack was a big part of his life.

 

“I actually had a blackjack table at my house. I played all the time and acquired 5,000 hours dealing,” he said.

 

It was a fun, exciting time in his life and he looks forward to revisiting it by serving as blackjack dealer at the Feb. 4 dinner/dance at The Morris in Glen Elk.

 

Tokens to play blackjack, as well as Plinko and to spin the prize wheel, are $5 each and can be purchased at the uhchollyball website HERE. Various packages are avalable for activity tokens and tokens for bourbon tasting - a flight of four featuring five different bourbon varieties. Pre-purchasing is recommended. Only 50 tokens for bourbon flights will be sold. 

 

With a degree in business management, Griffiths also managed a hospital gift shop in Ohio. At UHC, his background in golf came in handy as he co-chairs the Annual Pro-Am Tournament fundraiser at Pete Dye Golf Course.

 

The annual Holly Ball raises important funds to assist UHC in better serving patients. The event is sold out, but opportunity remains to financially support the event and its mission. Visit uhchollyballcom.