12.08.06: O’ Night Divine 2006

Lou Brock, Meadowlark Lemon, Mickey Carroll, Jack Clark, Jose Oquendo, Andy McCollum, Mike Matheny …

A who's who of local sports names and celebrities joined with more than 400 others to dine and raise funds for some special kids, both here and a continent away, at the Pujols Family Foundation's second annual O' Night Divine.

The event, held Friday, December 8th at the Crowne Plaza in Clayton, featured an evening full of warm conversation, touching stories, good food … and a slice of heaven for Cardinals fans.

"The whole evening, I just enjoyed being around Albert and the other guys and families and being a part of the organization and their goals," says KSDK Sports Director Rene Knott, who served as Auctioneer for the Live Auction event.

The alcohol-free evening began with live music by The Alteration Band and a smorgasbord of over a hundred items to peruse at the Silent Auction (including a bat autographed by David Eckstein, a luxurious bath robe with Pujols' name and number and MLB and World Series logos, and a poster-size canvas print of Albert). A heartfelt prayer by Reverend Jackie Brock, wife of Cardinals legend Lou Brock, opened a five-course meal served by white-gloved servers.

After the meal, Cardinals broadcaster Wayne Hagin served as Emcee and a video touched on some of the many events and activities Albert and Dee Dee and the PFF were involved in during the course of the year. Among some of the most memorable clips (beyond Albert's big hits) were those of children with Down syndrome enjoying the chance to participate in activities many take for granted, such as riding a bike, and the wide-eyed looks of the children from an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

In one scene, Dee Dee is holding a frail 2-year-old orphaned girl infected with HIV, and at the dinner she went on to explain how she hopes that the foundation can help open the door for a child in the Dominican to find his or her way out of such meager surroundings.

The foundation also told "Carli's Story." In a whirlwind series of events certainly made possible only through God, PFF volunteer Stefanie Maucher of Cedar Hill went from telling PFF director Todd Perry that her husband had mentioned in passing that he would like to adopt a child with Down syndrome to five weeks later becoming the parents of newborn Carli.

"We joke because my husband got really tense and he said, 'Hey, I'm supposed to have nine months to prepare for this, not five weeks'," says Stefanie Maucher, already mother to three children (12-year-old Erika, who has Down syndrome; Spencer, 15, and John, 10) whom Roger has adopted. "After (the video) we had a lot of people congratulating us or saying God bless you, but we're actually the ones who are blessed."

After the video presentations, Rene Knott fired up the room with his energetic and entertaining auctioneering. Among the top live auction items sold:

*Albert's size 13 cleats: $3,100
*Vintage Chicago Cubs pinball machine from Amini's Galleria: $3,000
*NASCAR dream weekend with Kenny Wallace: $6,000
*One of Albert's bats signed by members of the World Series lineup: $8,500

"Having the fans here in St. Louis to actually be able to take something home from the World Series that was actually touched by the team, that was pretty cool," says Rene.

A dapper Albert, clad in and by Sam Cavato, had the winning bid on a Rolex and immediately gave the watch to Rene. "I'm still kind of in shock over the whole thing," Rene said days later.

Christy McCollum, wife of Rams lineman Andy McCollum, won a bidding battle for a 10-week-old Golden Doodle puppy by offering $3,500 and then gave the puppy to the woman she had outbid. And Dee Dee had the top bid for a one-year lease on a 2007 BMW and gave it to a friend whose car had been badly damaged in an accident.

After the auction, many took to the dance floor and attendees were able to take home a gift bag full of items, including a beautiful Limited Edition Lisa Ober print autographed and numbered by Albert.

The Mauchers, who two days after the dinner celebrated Christmas with Carli's birth family, gave Carli's three birth siblings some their Pujols items.

"The impact that made alone on those three kids, you would have thought I'd given them world, and I just gave them two testimony cards and my signed print from the dinner," says Stefanie. "I don't know if Albert and Dee Dee fully understand the impact they have on people, they change so many lives and they don't even know it."

Click here for photo slideshow

Carli's story