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The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, which is a good thing for those in attendance at Louisiana Appleseed’s Good Apple Gala on Thursday, January 21 at Basin St. Station. Louisiana Appleseed is a nonprofit that recruits professionals to donate pro bono time to solve problems at the root of their cause and seeks to increase access to education, opportunity and justice.

This year, Louisiana Appleseed was able to recognize four Good Apple Award recipients. They are outstanding community members who have shown tremendous generosity through their pro bono excellence. The recipients included: Andrew R. Capitelli, associate, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, L.L.C.; ASI Federal Credit Union, Harahan, Louisiana; Louisiana Bar Foundation Fellows, Class of 2008, Class Project Participants, volunteers from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Alexandria; and Andrew L. Sandler, Co-Chair, Buckley Sandler LLP, Washington, D.C.

At the Good Apple Gala, guests mingled while listening to the soothing three-piece jazz ensemble composed of NOCCA students. Basin St. Station provided the bar. Laura Arrowood catered the event, providing small bites for the reception-style affair that included Louisiana crab cakes, grilled fontina and mushroom sandwiches and shrimp penne. For dessert, a delicious apple tart dessert was created to keep with the Good Apple theme.

One lucky Saints fan won two NFC Championship game tickets and a lithograph autographed by the 2009 Saints football team – this one item auctioned for $2,500. The Good Apple Gala went smoothly and raised funds for its nonprofit, which wouldn’t have been successful if it weren’t for Event Chair Betsy Regnell, Senior Director at LexisNexis; Partner at Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert Elwood Cahill; Caroline Fayard, Esquire; and President of Basin Street Records Mark Samuels.