The IOP LENS Fundraising Banquet slated for the evening of May 15 at The Citadel Beach Club will honor the Isle of Palms Police Department and celebrate local culinary talent.
Presented by the IOP Law Enforcement Neighborhood Support (LENS) program, this year’s theme is “Taste of the Island,” and will feature a competition among island restaurants in recognition of the hospitality industry. The festivities will also include live music and an online auction that launched May 1.
Now entering its third year, 20 community businesses are sponsoring the 2024 fundraising banquet, which is coordinated and staffed exclusively by volunteers. This year’s event will be a more casual affair than 2023’s formal gathering held at Wild Dunes’ Sweetgrass Inn.
Ted Kinghorn, who administers the IOP LENS program, said that as a nonprofit, the charity dinner function helps finance its various programs and initiatives.
Proceeds will fund IOP LENS’ hardship awards, educational scholarships and morale boosting initiatives that benefit IOP police officers and their families. The morale boosting programs are highlighted by the annual awards banquet in December and the National Night Out.
Additionally, the monies will be used to provide community policing programs such as the Bike Safety Rodeo, the U.S. Coast Guard boating certification courses and the Children’s Water Safety event. “Without support and resources we wouldn’t be able to do these things,” said Kinghorn.
The “Taste of the Island” competition will include 10 participating local businesses that will each set up cooking stations. LENS is expecting between 250-300 banquet attendees who will cast their votes for whichever dishes they enjoy the most. The restaurant that garners the most first-third place votes will be crowned the champion, explained Kinghorn.
IOP LENS also presents leadership awards at the banquet. Chaplain Paula Mullens will receive the George Reeth Leadership Award and LENS will acknowledge Dennis McLendon as its 2023 Volunteer of the Year. They will recognize 104-year-old Kathryn Marley Magruder with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Mayor Phillip Pounds and his wife Laurie will be honored with the Founders Recognition Award.
The entertainment this year will be a small, lighthearted opera. “We try to mix it up,” said Kinghorn.
If you are unable to attend the banquet but would still like to support local law enforcement, you can bid for auction items online.
Kinghorn emphasized that LENS can only do what it does for the IOPPD and the community because of the generosity of businesses and individuals on the island. “There’s been a lot of goodwill and I know the police department appreciates it,” he stated.
To check ticket availability or bid on online auction items, visit lensiop.org/lens-banquet.
By Colin McCandless
Leave a Reply