Power Lunching with a Legend: Dexter Manley

Vince Marshall, Hilda Merano, and Dexter Manley

At Morton’s we call the series “Lunch with a Legend,” but Monday’s event in downtown DC was a pep rally of the finest sort. The rivalry between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys started on October 9, 1960 and has since become the greatest rivalry in the sport – maybe even in professional sports altogether.

The excitement for this week’s game was palpable as more than 150 Redskins fans, former players, families and media flooded Morton’s dining room for a live broadcast of ESPN980’s “The Sports Fix,”  with hosts Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro. The sold out crowd donned jerseys from over the years, a majority sporting #72, the number worn by the day’s honoree, former Defensive End Dexter Manley .

Raucous applause erupted at mention of Manley’s legendary 66 sacks from 1982-1986 and his two Super Bowl rings. Former teammate Offensive Lineman George Starke arrived a few minutes late, but not without notice. Both men circled the room at commercial breaks taking photos with guests, signing autographs, and strategizing with fans how the Redskins defense could attack the injured Tony Romo.

In the end, the Cowboys prevailed in the final minutes of the game bringing the team’s record to 61-38-2 against the Redskins. The history won’t matter though. Like the classic American steakhouse, this legendary American tradition is here to stay.

Read all about it! Dexter Manley Lunch with a Legend media coverage included Washington Examiner.

Reported by Anthony Hesselius, Linda Roth Associates, Inc.

 

Morton’s The Steakhouse Scores a Hole-in-One With PGA TOUR Pro Charley Hoffman

It's Charley Hoffman!

The young guns of the golf world took over Morton’s The Steakhouse Las Vegas as UNLV Alumnus Charley Hoffman and 10 of his friends dropped their 7-irons to serve more than 160 guests. The guest servers who kept every wine glass filled and delivered hot entrees to the guests were Chris Riley, Bill Lunde, John Mallinger, Dean Wilson, Billy Horschel, Andres Gonzales, Ricky Barnes, D.J. Trahan, Chez Reavie and Troy Matteson.

The evening benefited the Charley Hoffman Foundation, which donated $18,000 each to five Las Vegas children’s charities – Goodie Two Shoes, Blessings in a Backpack, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Zelzah Shriners Transportation Fund. All-in-all, more than $90,000 was raised over the course of the day!

The Celebrity Server Event was the conclusion of a golf-filled day as Charley Hoffman hosted his annual Pro-Am at TPC Summerlin. Pro-Am participants, golf enthusiasts and Morton’s regulars filled the dining room with a high-energy atmosphere. Comedian George Lopez and baseball great Greg Maddux came to Morton’s as well and each won a live auction item! Maddux even donated an autographed baseball glove and baseball to the evening’s silent auction.

Morton’s first-ever Celebrity Server Event in Las Vegas was a tremendous success. A great deal of money was raised for charity, everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves and, most importantly, no plates were dropped by the guest servers!

Local media coverage included Las Vegas Sun, KVVU-TV and Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Reported by Stephen Miller, Preferred Public Relations

 

OH, WHAT A NIGHT! 2nd Annual Owen Daniels Celebrity Server Event Scores Big

Owen Daniels with his Celebrity Servers and Team Morton's!

Cameras, lights, football stars and fans packed Morton’s the Steakhouse Houston Galleria the evening of September 26 for the 2nd Annual Owen Daniels Celebrity Server Dinner. The event sold out ten days prior and the 185 guests were ready to party and party they did. Beginning at 7 pm, Bar 12.21 was packed with guests shopping the silent action items, sampling the bar bites and ready for the action to start.

Houston Texans Tight End Owen Daniels called in the big hitters from the team to help with the fun and activities as Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, James Casey, Chris Myers, J.J. Watt, Shaun Cody, DeMeco Ryans, David Anderson, Steve Slaton, Garrett Graham and Brian Cushing demonstrated their waiter skills throughout the evening. Autographs were the number one request but players were busy refilling water glasses, serving wine, offering dressing for salads and being great sports.

The guests enjoyed a four course Morton’s dinner, silent auction, live auction including two trips to Cabo and opened their hearts and their wallets to help The Owen Daniels Catch a Dream Foundation. Highlights of the evening included the Texans players getting their waiter instructions from the Morton’s team and the live auction with Arian Foster, David Anderson and Shaun Cody demonstrating their auctioneer skills to the joy of the crowd. The big auction items were a Texans autographed 3 liter Monte Bello Red Blend bottle of wine being sold for $5,600 and the two trips to Cabo being sold for $15,000 each, all of which will benefit the Owen Daniels Catch a Dream Foundation.

Special news on the Morton’s Celebrity Server Dinners from Roger Drake, Morton’s Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications; “With two celebrity server events last night – one in Houston with Owen Daniels, and one in Las Vegas with Charley Hoffman and his PGA TOUR friends, Morton’s expects to exceed the $2 million dollar mark in proceeds raised over the past two years. Morton’s is proud to partner with stellar athletes and committed humanitarians such as Owen Daniels, who is truly focused on helping kids in Houston with his Catch a Dream Foundation work.”

Oh, what a night in Houston. Everyone went home with stories to tell, memories to cherish and knowing that they helped a great cause with Owen Daniels and the Catch a Dream Foundation.

Media coverage of the Owen Daniels Celebrity Server event included KHOU-TV, The Rod Ryan Show, Chron.com and CultureMap.com. 

Reported by Joe Pogge, Strike Marketing

Still hungry? Click these links to learn more about Morton’s exciting Celebrity Server and Lunch with a Legend series throughout the U.S.