Outdoor addition prompts Midtown resident to use space for good causes

Published September 27, 2012 in the Commercial Appeal

Adding an outdoor kitchen to their Midtown home gave Kathy and Kelly Fish more than a place to cook out. It also gave them the perfect place from which to help their community.

Originally from Rochester, N.Y., Kathy Fish has lived in Memphis for 36 years, and says she loves Memphis and the people here. She is a financial planner who built her own business, Fish and Associates. "It's an all-women financial planning and wealth management firm," Fish explains. "We're like personal CFO's (chief financial officers) that oversee investments."

The more successful she became, the more she wanted to give back to the community. Fish holds quarterly volunteer activities for her employees and clients and has served on numerous boards. But with the completion of the outdoor kitchen, Fish has found a fun way to give back to organizations close to her heart.

The outdoor kitchen was something Fish wanted for a long time, but she waited until she could have it exactly the way she wanted it. It took about 10 months to construct and was completed in October 2011. It includes a bar area that seats six, complete with a refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. Adjacent to the bar and flanking the swimming pool is a seating area with a sofa, two chairs and a coffee table, as well as a gas-fueled concrete fire pit with four lounge chairs. The L-shaped kitchen also includes a formal dining table for eight and a cocktail high-top table for four. There's also a large chaise longue and a granite bench.

"We could probably seat about 30 out here," Fish says. "It's really the best use of the backyard. I like to entertain, and we were always going in and out, in and out."

Fish jokes she could live in the backyard and rent out her house. "It turned out exactly if not better than I envisioned it. We spend so much time outside now."

Fish grew up in a family with eight kids, so entertaining is no big deal to her, and she loves to host parties. At one party, Fish decided she should use her amazing new space to do something positive for the community. She ran the idea by some guests, and her friend Jackie Nichols, who is the executive producer at Playhouse on the Square, loved the idea.

So in June, Fish, who will be the president of Playhouse's board next year, instituted "Happy Hour with a Heart," also known as "Cocktails for a Cause" on the first Friday of the month, and made Playhouse the first recipient. Local actor Bill Andrews served as bartender, and after a couple of hours, there was $500 in the tip jar for the theater.

With the success of her first party, Fish made it a monthly event. She decided to recruit a celebrity bartender for each event, and she always creates a signature cocktail. Fish also provides beer and wine and a few munchies. In July, the recipient was Project Green Fork, on whose board she once served and which is run by her good friend, Margot McNeeley. Ben Smith, chef/owner of Tsunami, which was the first restaurant to be certified by Project Green Fork, served as guest bartender, and the cocktail was called "Rosemary's Baby," a mixture of Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain, Champagne and fresh rosemary. Fish even had free nail polish refreshers for guests courtesy of the Nail Bar.

She tells people to show up on their way out for the night, have a cocktail or two, and donate what they can to the organization. "That way we aren't competing with other events," Fish explains.

She invites her friends and also asks the organizations to invite their supporters. "There are so many great organizations in Memphis, and this is a great way to learn about them," Fish says.

"Cocktails for a Cause" raised $750 for Project Green Fork.

Next up was Friends for Life, on whose board Fish served for 10 years. "They do such great work in the community," she says. Amanda Kohr, who works in development at Friends for Life, was the bartender, serving a take on a Cosmopolitan Punch with lemon vodka, craisins, grapefruit juice, lime juice, Cointreau and Champagne. "Cocktails for a Cause" raised $1,000 for Friends for Life.

Then she did Choices: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, which is run by her good friend, Rebecca Terrell. The bartender was physician Jeff Warren.

"I wanted people to have a choice of cocktails, so I created two," Fish says. The most popular, called "Rose Colored Spectacles," included currant vodka, citrus vodka, lime juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, bitters, and Champagne. "I love topping everything with Champagne," Fish says. That event raised $970.

Fish creates an event listing on Facebook to promote the cocktail hours and tries to create buzz leading up to them. "I like to hint at the cocktail or have people guess who the bartender is going to be," she says.

In October, she will promote the Community Foundation's Give 365 program, and in November she will focus on the Memphis Food Bank. "Then I'm taking a break," she says.

Fish has really enjoyed the events and has met a lot of new people through them. "I'd love to see people do this in other parts of the city. It's an easy way to fundraise for an organization you believe in," she says. "It doesn't have to be elaborate. We just have a great space that is conducive to it."