Outgoing County Commissioner Addie Greene with TED Center Executive Director Seabron Smith. In the background are Delray City Commissioner Mackenson Bernard, left, with Delray Mayor Woodie McDuffie. Greene was honored during Saturday's gala for her support of the TED Center and the community. More photos below.

DELRAY BEACH — The South Florida business community helped raise about $12,000 for the Center for Technology, Enterprise and Development and the Florida Women’s Business Center during a gala held Saturday at the Delray Beach Marriott.

Between 150 and 160 attended the event. Among those attending: Honorary chairs Dwight Stephenson, the former Miami Dophin and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his wife, Dinah Stephenson, and Carole Molnar, a vice president and Community Reinvestment Act director at Comerica Bank; departing County Commissioner Addie Green; Delray Beach City Commissioner Mackenson Bernard; Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie.

The mission of the TED Center and the FWBC is to foster entrepreneurship, and the theme for the evening was a “salute to entrepreneurship.” Both organizations are housed in offices at 401 W. Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Both rely on government grants, private donations and program fees to fund their operations. With the slow economy and tight government budgets, the two are turning more to private sources to cover their budgets.

The TED Center used the occasion to recognize Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene for her efforts on behalf of the business community and the community at large, calling her “the people’s commissioner.” Greene is leaving the commission effective Thursday for health reasons.

Also during gala, three TED Center/FWBC clients were recognized for their business success. They were:

— Reginald A. Cox, founder of Reginald A. Cox and Associations, a three-year-old architectural and engineering firm,

— Sophia Wisdom, founder of the House of Wisdom Restart Center, a shelter for young single mothers and their children.

— Celeste Miller, a former public relations consultant who created her own line of luxury handbags under the Royal and Rolande name. The name is a tribute to her grandparents.

During the TED Center and the Florida Women's Business Center recognized three of their most successful clients. From left are Celeste Miller, designer of the Royal and Rolande line of handbags; Sophia Wisdom, founder of the House of Wisdom Restart Center, a shelter for young single mothers and their children; TED Center Executive Director Seabron Smith; Reginald Cox of Reginald A. Cox and Associates, an architectural and engineering firm; and Jennifer Brinn Kovach of the Florida Women's Business Center.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie, left, with Addie Greene and City Commissioner Bernard Mackenson.

FPL executive Tony Newbold, who chairs the TED Center board, left, chats a moment with Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie.