Doing Well. Doing Good.

>>It was advice that resonated with Andrew DeVito.

A vice president for wealth management with citi Smith Barney, DeVito received the advice from Phil Beuth, a former president at ABC Television: "When you do well, I expect you to do good."

As the driving force behind The Legend Club, a 501(c)3 that will raise money for local and national nonprofits, DeVito, 59, is putting those words to work.

"I’ve never done anything like this in my life," DeVito says during an interview in his understated but comfortable office in Naples.

The Legend Club, which officially launched Oct. 7, will bring in speakers to address members of the club, which offers tax-deductible memberships. Some of the speakers the group hopes to feature include NBA powerhouse Julius "Dr. J" Erving, talk-show personality Regis Philbin and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. Among
the speakers confirmed are Bart Starr, former Green Bay Packer quarterback and head coach, who is scheduled for Jan. 29, and Nick Buoniconti, an American Football League and NFL Hall of Fame middle linebacker, who will speak on Feb. 5.

DeVito anticipates the speakers will go beyond the usual dinner speech sound bites. "You’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories from legends," he says.

The Legend Club hopes to attract 350 to 400 dues-paying members. Dues are $350 to attend the speeches, and $850 to stick around for the dinner and cocktails afterwards.

With minimal administrative costs, The Legend Club will contribute most of the proceeds to charity, DeVito says. Smith Barney and Royal Palm Builders have donated office space and staff. Law firm Quarles & Brady prepared the 501(c)3 filing pro bono—something that would have cost $15,000 otherwise. Preparation of the group’s Web site,
www.thelegendclub.org, was donated. The board members, who include DeVito, Beuth and Royal Palm principal Mark Coleman, receive no compensation.