7960823672?profile=originalMartina Navratilova (with racket) is a regular at Chris Evert’s charity event and is among those set to be part of the festivities again Nov. 9-11. 2017 photo provided by Camerawork, USA

By Christine Davis

Tennis stars John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe and Martina Navratilova and actors Chris Noth and Jon Lovitz are scheduled to be among the celebrities on hand when Chris Evert hosts the 29th annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic Nov. 9-11 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.
A staple on the south Palm Beach County sports calendar, the event has raised more than $24 million for charity while featuring luminaries such as former President George H.W. Bush, Chevy Chase, Matthew Perry and Olivia Newton-John.
Sports celebrities featured over the years have included tennis stars Jimmy Connors, Lindsay Davenport, Tracy Austin, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams and Serena Williams. Other sports luminaries involved have been Don Shula, Pat Riley, Jim Palmer, Sugar Ray Leonard and Keith Hernandez.
Festivities begin with Tennis With Chrissie and Friends, an exclusive pro-am from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that Friday at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, and continue with the Classic Cocktail Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at the club’s garden pool.
Action moves to the Delray Beach Tennis Center beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, where tennis legends will be paired with an array of celebrities from the entertainment and sports worlds.
Saturday evening will feature the 29th annual Pro Celebrity Gala starting at 6, featuring Blood, Sweat and Tears back at the Boca Raton Resort. The event concludes with more matches at the Tennis Center on Sunday.
Tickets start at $20 general admission, with a wide range of ticket packages available at www.chrisevert.org or by calling 394-2400.

While Evert prepares for her Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic, she’s also trying to sell her west Boca Raton estate and she’s offering an unusual incentive: a private tennis lesson.
Evert, who retired from professional tennis in 1989, listed her property at 8563 Horseshoe Lane last spring for $4.99 million. Built in 1995, the house and two guesthouses are sited on more than 5 acres. Evert bought it for $2.8 million in 2003, when she was married to Olympic skier Andy Mill. Katia Reisler of Douglas Elliman and Rebecca Spooner of Siemens Group Realty are the listing agents.

A Hillsboro Beach mansion at 935 Hillsboro Mile, known as Le Palais Royal and Playa Vista, will sell to the highest bidder in November, forgoing its previous asking price of $159 million and without a reserve price. Mayi de la Vega, owner of One Sotheby’s International Realty, is the listing agent. Concierge Auctions will handle the auction, which begins Nov. 12 and ends Nov. 15.
The 60,000-square-foot estate has 11 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, an IMAX home theater, six waterfalls and two deep-water docks. Robert Pereira, president of the Middlesex Corp., a contracting firm based in Massachusetts, owns the property, which was first listed on the market in 2014 for $139 million, going up in price the following year. It was taken off the market in 2016.

Andrew Robins sold a new home, designed by Jag Design and Development, on a half-acre at 3833 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach, to software entrepreneur Michael J. Rothberg and his wife, Judith, for $21.5 million. Robins bought the property for $3.675 million in 2014. The recent sale was recorded on Oct. 10. Michael Rothberg was previously the head of Boca Raton-based Sengent, which is now owned by New York-based Clarifi.

National Hockey League star Max Pacioretty sold his five-bedroom and 41/2-acre estate at 434 Areca Palm Road, Boca Raton, after it spent only five days on the market in mid-October. The property sold for $3.1 million and was listed with Devin Kay, an agent with Douglas Elliman, for $3.45 million. Features include smart house technology, safe room and indoor/outdoor basketball and sports court. Pacioretty plays for the Vegas Golden Knights after spending 10 years with Montreal.

The Fite Group Luxury Homes, a real estate firm headquartered in Palm Beach with offices in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington, has partnered with William Raveis Real Estate.
“This partnership with Raveis expands our network for our clientele, gives our agents access to cutting-edge technology and combines the high levels of service and luxury market positions for which both companies are known,” said David Fite, founder and principal of the Fite Group.
This partnership presented an opportunity for both companies. Since many Palm Beach County home buyers come from the Northeast, the Fite Group offers Raveis local expertise in Palm Beach County. “We have great respect for the Fite Group’s expertise and commitment to the discerning communities of Palm Beach County, demonstrated by David and Nadine Fite’s strong leadership,” said chairman and CEO Bill Raveis, who founded William Raveis Real Estate 44 years ago.
According to its websites, the Fite Group, founded 10 years ago, has 100 agents and has completed more than $5 billion in sales.
Over four decades, Raveis has grown from a single office over a grocery store in Connecticut to a family enterprise with more than 4,000 professionals in 130 offices across nine states, resulting in $10.2 billion in real estate sales in 2017.

Delray Beach was selected by Expedia as one of the best honeymoon destinations in America.
The honor was based on four sweet spots: Delray Beach got four out of five “bicycle” icons for action, four out of four “cityscape” icons for scenery, three out of four “roses” for vibes and two out of four “dollar signs” for affordability. In other words, Delray Beach scored well in three out of the four criteria. Delray Beach is so great, the article reads, that “you might want to tie the knot all over again.”

Planning the perfect day in Delray Beach just got a whole lot easier. The Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative recently launched an app on visitdelraybeach.org that provides an interactive way to map out things to do in the city.
Users can explore everything from events to popular restaurants to points of interest, as well as hotels and attractions — all with driving directions.
“See a beach activity you don’t want to miss?” asked Stephanie Immelman, the cooperative’s executive director. “Click ‘Join’ and the event will be added to your plan. Want to invite some friends? Share your plan with them directly or via social media, email or SMS.”

The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority’s Delray Beach Fashion Week received a Silver Award in the special event category from Visit Florida’s 2018 Flagler Awards at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Orlando.

On Small Business Day, Nov. 24 in downtown Delray Beach, shoppers can enjoy a holiday stroll and avail themselves of in-store and outdoor promotions, entertainment, festive decorations and light bites.
For this event, the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority partnered with the City of Delray Beach, CRA and the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Recent additions to the downtown area include Biba, Doughnut Works, JuiceBuzz Mrkt & Juicery, Ramen Lab Eatery, Beachfront Properties, Wine House Social, Nada’s Italy, Style de Vie and Jennifer on the Avenue.
They join longtime local businesses Vince Canning Shoes, Avalon Gallery, Murder on the Beach Bookstore, Hand’s, Snappy Turtle, Delray Camera Shop, Huber’s Pharmacy, Periwinkle, Richwagen’s Delray Bike & Sport, and many more. 
At the Shop Small hospitality booths, customers who spend $50 at a downtown Delray Beach small business can receive complimentary gifts and Shop Small giveaways. 
The booths will be in Pineapple Grove by the banyan tree in front of Addison Gallery, 206 NE Second St., Delray Beach, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and in front of Hand’s Office & Art Supply, 325 E. Atlantic Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m.
Visit DowntownDelrayBeach.com/ShopSmall for a list of participating merchants.

Event-goers can have fun playing cards while raising money to feed local seniors in need at Viva Las Vegas, an event that benefits the Community Caring Center of Palm Beach County. It will be from 6 to 11 p.m. Nov. 10 at Mercedes-Benz of Delray, 1001 Linton Blvd. After a cocktail reception, gaming will open with blackjack, Texas hold ’em, slot machines, roulette and craps. There will also be music by the Sound Proof, a silent auction, a carving station, heavy hors d’oeuvres, dessert buffet, coffee and tea. Tickets are $100. For tickets, go to cccgbb.org/2018-viva-las-vegas.

Through Dec. 7, the 13th annual Project Holiday will accept donated items for deployed members of the U.S. military.
For this initiative, the City of Delray Beach is partnering with two local organizations: You Are Not Alone and One Soldier at a Time.
You Are Not Alone provides encouragement and emotional support to family members and friends of troops, while One Soldier at a Time sends care packages and words of encouragement to deployed military members.
For a list of requested items and drop-off locations, visit mydelraybeach.com. 
If you are a resident of Delray Beach or Boca Raton and have a family member serving overseas in the military, request a care package by contacting Delores Rangel at 243-7010 or rangel@mydelraybeach.com. You can also contact Rangel if you want to volunteer to pack items to be shipped.

Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business has announced a partnership with the Dow Jones Barron’s in Education program. Students and faculty will receive a digital subscription to Barron’s, a weekly review, an email newsletter summarizing business and investment stories, and Barron’s MarketWatch Virtual Stock Exchange interactive game.
The program includes an invitation for a small group of faculty and students to visit Dow Jones headquarters and tour the newsrooms at Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch. Also, students will have free access to Dow Jones’ online recruitment for internship and job opportunities.
The program, funded by Barron’s magazine, is sponsored by the wealth management firm PagnatoKarp, whose founder and CEO Paul A. Pagnato earned his bachelor’s degree from the Florida Atlantic University’s College of Science in 1986. PagnatoKarp is based in Reston, Va.


7960824077?profile=originalLocal high school poets have until Dec. 1 to enter the Palm Beach Poetry Festival contest. Photo provided

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival launched its 15th annual Palm Beach County High School Poetry Contest in October in partnership with Old School Square in Delray Beach. Through Dec. 1, Palm Beach County high school students can submit one original poem (30 lines maximum) for consideration. Original poems should be submitted by email before midnight on Dec. 1 to PBPF1@aol.com. For contest rules, visit palmbeachpoetryfestival.org/event/2018-high-school-poetry-contest.
The winning poet will receive $200, and the four runners-up will each receive $100. All five poets will read their poems at the festival’s award ceremony on Jan. 21. The judge for the contest will once again be Dr. Jeff Morgan of Lynn University’s Department of English.

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County with the School District of Palm Beach County coordinated a successful voter registration effort at 23 local high schools on National Voter Registration day, Sept. 25.
More than 250 volunteers participated in this campaign, which happened over the lunch hour in public schools from Boca Raton to Jupiter. Now, many of the 1,940 high school students who registered can vote on Nov. 6.
“Our aim was to motivate young people to take the first step toward participating in the democratic process by registering to vote,” said Pam Maldonado, chairwoman of the Voting Service Committee for the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County.

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County will host a Hot Topic Luncheon Nov. 21 to analyze election results. The Palm Beach Post editorial writer Howard Goodman will discuss “Where do we go from here?”
The luncheon is at the Atlantis Country Club, 190 Atlantis Blvd., Lake Worth. Doors open at 11 a.m., and lunch will be served at 11:30. The cost is $25 in advance or $35 at the door. RSVPs are requested at lwvpbc.org or by calling Estelle Friedman at 968-4123.

Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards has recognized six resorts in our area. They include The Boca Raton Resort and Club, No. 10; Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, No. 11; Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa in Riviera Beach, No. 14; Boca Beach Club in Boca Raton, No. 18; The Breakers in Palm Beach, No. 24; and Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, No. 29.


Brian Biggane, Amy Woods and Mary Thurwachter contributed to this column.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

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