Back from New Orleans, businessman gives back.Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard All of a sudden, Ronny Goldfarb's ubiquitous face was gone from television spots for Ronny's Stereo. In 2003, he sold his store and moved back to his hometown of New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded to care for his aging parents. On Aug. 25, 2005, two days before Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. hit, they went to Baton Rouge Baton Rouge (băt`ən r zh) [Fr.,=red stick], city (1990 pop. 219,531), state capital and seat of East Baton Rouge parish, SE La. to wait out the storm
with family.
Now, on the two-year anniversary of the storm that almost destroyed a city that has been slow to rebuild, Goldfarb is fulfilling a promise he made to a friend when he returned after the storm to take care of details. His father hasn't been back to the Crescent City Crescent City is the name of the following places:
Goldfarb is hosting a fund- raiser this weekend at his new store, Ronny's Audio Vision. The event came to be in part because of what he told his friend, who was disappointed in him for leaving the town, but mostly because it's what his heart is telling him to do. "This isn't about what I suffered, because I didn't lose anything but memories because I had insurance," Goldfarb said during a recent interview at his new business near the Fifth Street Public Market. "I thought (the fundraiser) would be a wonderful opportunity to help those people who were less fortunate than I was." When Goldfarb returned to New Orleans, he said the conditions were "something you couldn't even put into words." He knew the levees, whose failure caused much of the flooding, would not be rebuilt soon, so he decided he would return to Oregon after selling his and his folks' homes. Goldfarb opened the doors to his new business in June, with his son Josh as his right-hand man. The Goldfarbs have worked together to solicit donations for the raffle and schedule musicians. The Saturday and Sunday event is primarily a raffle. But it features live acoustic Live Acoustic (Nettwerk) is an EP by Sarah McLachlan. It was released on May 31, 2004 in Canada only. The tracks were recorded live at the debut of iTunes for the PC on October 21, 2003 and were previously only available on iTunes. music by Jerry Zybach, Jim Hershey and the Pick-up Dixieland Jazz Band on Saturday, and Walker T Ryan, Natty "O" and former New Orleans resident Kelly Thibodeaux of Etouffee é·touf·fée n. pl. é·touf·fées A spicy Cajun stew of vegetables and seafood, especially crayfish. [Louisiana French, from French (à l')étouffée, stewed on Sunday. People can come in and buy tickets to win everything from Eugene Symphony The Eugene Symphony is an American orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. Its home venue is the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Approximately 22,000 people attend Eugene Symphony's classical and pops concert performances each year. tickets to restaurant gift certificates and electronics donated by Goldfarb's manufacturers. The money will be forwarded to the Portland branch of Mercy Corps Mercy Corps is a non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian aid and development activities. Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations. , a group that is lending its nonprofit tax identification number for the business to host a raffle. "The tragedy of Katrina gets put further and further on the back burner," Goldfarb said. "These other (recent) events are tragic, but the scope and magnitude of Katrina is beyond the imagination of those folks who haven't seen it." EVENT PREVIEW Hurricane Katrina benefit Who: The Pick-up Dixieland Jazz Band, Jim Hershey, Jerry Zybach on Saturday; Kelly Thibodeaux (of Etouffee), Natty "O" and Walker T Ryan on Sunday When: Music starts at 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday; event runs noon to 5 p.m. both days Where: 180 E. Fifth Ave. Raffle: Tickets sold for $10 for a chance to win such items as Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise, based in Portland throughout its existence, entered the league in 1970 and has won the NBA Championship once, in 1977. and Eugene Symphony tickets, gift certificates and home electronics |
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