It's all hands on deck at Ashland for major fundraiser

Christina Bell, Ashland's director of development and chief party planner, is in the final stages of preparing the biggest fundraiser of the year. In her office, Bell is surrounded by auction items. There are 40 for the silent auction and 10 bigger-ticket items a year's lease on a BMW, a Greek coin necklace, dinner for eight at Botherum, another historic home in town that the foundation hopes will get bid up in frenzied competition. HERALD-LEADER|BuyPhoto

A casual visitor to the Henry Clay Estate this week might have no inkling, but behind the serene, historic faade, it's crunch time for the people who work there.

Saturday is the Lawn Party, the biggest day in the Ashland Foundation's fund-raising calendar. Banners at the four corners of the grounds declare it "Summer's Best Party," doubling down on the pressure as if raising a quarter of the annual operating budget in a single night isn't enough.

"There's a ton of things to do," says Christina Bell, director of development and chief party planner, who's pretty much camped out this week at work, keeping her finger on the elevated pulse of the preparations.

Besides the catering and the tent and the musicians, there are weeds to banish, bricks to clean, mosquitoes to discourage and 17 acres of grass to cut. The estate hires outside services for the spraying and mowing. But for the other sprucing-up tasks, and for generally keeping a cool head amid the frenzy, Bell and curator Eric Brooks know they can rely on one man: Shawn Goheen.

What, me worry?

"I just wait for my list," says Goheen, looking surprisingly serene for a go-to guy days before the big bash.

Or maybe he hasn't fully woken up. It's just after 8 a.m. and he normally doesn't clock in until 10.

Goheen, 46, grew up across the road on Sherman Avenue, and as a boy climbed Ashland's trees and played Frisbee on its lawn. His memories of the place include seeing the long-departed cat Gypsy, one of Ashland's favorite residents, sitting in a window, surveying her domain. But he'd never been inside the building until five years ago, when he was hired as the estate's maintenance technician. It's a job title that is elastic enough to include almost anything.

"Shawn does an incredible number of things in a few hours and does them well and cheerfully," says Brooks. "He often finds problems that we don't know about."

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It's all hands on deck at Ashland for major fundraiser