Bonnie Brae School's Tartan Ball Raises Funds, Provides Gala Evening

Music, dinner, good company and other entertainment — along with a worthy cause — attracted 230 people to the 25th annual Tartan Ball, held Saturday night as a fundraiser for the in Liberty Corner.

The ball was held at the Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster Township. The evening was a success despite the icy weather, said Cathy Phillips, events manager at the private school and treatment center.

Each Tartan Ball honors a special supporter of Bonnie Brae from throughout its 95-year history. The 25th ball commemorated Richard H. Herold, former Bonnie Brae trustee, board president and co-chairman of a capital campaign for the school in 2000. Herold, who established Herold Law in Warren, passed away last September, according to Phillips.

David Connolly of Basking Ridge, honorary chairman of the ball, was a friend of Herold's, Phillips said. 

Among the attendees was Bernards Township Committeeman Scott Spitzer. "The Tartan Ball was great!" he said on Monday. "Bonnie Brae is wonderful institution in our township that has done good work for many years. Bonnie Brae a leader in educating and helping young men improve their lives," Spitzer said of the school for adolescents ages eight to 18 who come from a troubled or unstable background.

"I was pleased to join the many volunteers who year in and year out provide Bonnie Brae with needed financial support and guidance," Spitzer added. 

The Tartan Ball is the primary fundraiser for Bonnie Brae School, Phillips said beforehand. The event recognized many Scottish traditions, complete with bagpipers, haggis — the distinctive Scottish dish — Scottish kilts and a Scotch Whisky tasting hosted by William Grant and Sons, she said.

The Bonnie Brae Knights, a drum corps that received national attention when the band performed at President Barack Obama's inaugural parade in 2009, provided some of the evening's entertainment.
Signature soups produced by Bonnie Brae students in the school's culinary programs were among the items auctioned off. "Many of the soups went for $1,000," Phillips said.

George Tate, a graduate of Bonnie Brae, spoke movingly about his experiences at the school decades before, Phillips said. Tate, a graduate of Ridge High School — attended by Bonnie Brae's residents at that time — talked about how he later graduated from Howard University and went on to professional success and parenthood, she said.

Herold provided years of leadership and direction for Bonnie Brae School at a time when it was most needed, Phillips recalled. She said he served as a board trustee in the 1970s, serving as board president for a year,