View Top Shelf Todd Story

Liz and Ron Herman

Many know Todd as the legendary life of the party. He’s also so much more than just an impeccable party planner and generous host. We met him when Sarah and our oldest daughter, Kira, were both infants, a fact that they love to share. “We’ve known each other since we were 4 months old!" they used to proclaim to their teachers. Over the years, he’s added so much fun, light, and positivity into our lives, as well as sharing meaningful traditions. Just a few examples: ⁃ at the beginning of our friendship, we were also neighbors and our kids basically grew up together. Before throwing celebrity parties, Todd was also a savvy and impressive deal hunter and maker. Back then, Priceline used to have a “name your own price” bidding system for booking hotel rooms at a discount. Generally, users would be lucky to get the promised 60% off their top choice hotel room. One night in his old living room, Todd proudly let us in on his secret “hack” of the Priceline algorithm, where he’d score nights at the Ritz for the price of a Holiday Inn. Sure enough, his system worked when we tried it for ourselves. The man is a legend! He’d also quickly be able to tell you if a certain purchase is a good deal, especially related to car leases, anything event planning, dining and entertainment, and the retail value of any event/gala ticket. He's a math genius, a trait passed on to Sarah and Lilah, who are also becoming savvy bargain hunters ("Liz, I got this lululemon fanny pack for 50% off" Sarah recently proclaimed.) ⁃ When our oldest daughters were 3 1/2 years old, he started a beautiful tradition of buying up group tickets for Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival Kids Kitchen event. The annual event brought top chefs to teach a kids cooking class at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach. Undeterred by the pesky rules that required kids to be at least 4 years old, Todd snuck in Sarah, Kira, Anna, and a few other underage guests to the elegant morning of father-daughter bonding time. Over the years, the kids learned from several Top Chefs, and some girls later joined by their younger siblings. The tradition continued for 9 years, each time Todd refusing any reimbursement, and making sure to create lasting memories for the girls. If there's a VIP section in the afterlife, you can bet Todd already reserved it, and started auctioneering to fundraise for his next cause. Cheers to the Legend who taught us that life is a party! Photo captions: 1. welcoming Shabbat during COVID with Todd’s special blue cheese martinis. Outdoor movie night and treats for kids and adults became an almost weekly tradition with our families during the pandemic. 2. Staycationing together in Singer Island. 3. Leaving Ritz Club in New Orleans with plenty of treats for the road!! Many know Todd as the legendary life of the party. He’s also so much more than just an impeccable party planner and generous host. We met him when Sarah and our oldest daughter, Kira, were both infants, a fact that they love to share. “We’ve known each other since we were 4 months old!" they used to proclaim to their teachers. Over the years, he’s added so much fun, light, and positivity into our lives, as well as sharing meaningful traditions. Just a few examples:
⁃ at the beginning of our friendship, we were also neighbors and our kids basically grew up together. Before throwing celebrity parties, Todd was also a savvy and impressive deal hunter and maker. Back then, Priceline used to have a “name your own price” bidding system for booking hotel rooms at a discount. Generally, users would be lucky to get the promised 60% off their top choice hotel room. One night in his old living room, Todd proudly let us in on his secret “hack” of the Priceline algorithm, where he’d score nights at the Ritz for the price of a Holiday Inn. Sure enough, his system worked when we tried it for ourselves. The man is a legend! He’d also quickly be able to tell you if a certain purchase is a good deal, especially related to car leases, anything event planning, dining and entertainment, and the retail value of any event/gala ticket. He's a math genius, a trait passed on to Sarah and Lilah, who are also becoming savvy bargain hunters ("Liz, I got this lululemon fanny pack for 50% off" Sarah recently proclaimed.)
⁃ When our oldest daughters were 3 1/2 years old, he started a beautiful tradition of buying up group tickets for Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival Kids Kitchen event. The annual event brought top chefs to teach a kids cooking class at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach. Undeterred by the pesky rules that required kids to be at least 4 years old, Todd snuck in Sarah, Kira, Anna, and a few other underage guests to the elegant morning of father-daughter bonding time. Over the years, the kids learned from several Top Chefs, and some girls later joined by their younger siblings. The tradition continued for 9 years, each time Todd refusing any reimbursement, and making sure to create lasting memories for the girls.
If there's a VIP section in the afterlife, you can bet Todd already reserved it, and started auctioneering to fundraise for his next cause. Cheers to the Legend who taught us that life is a party!


Photo captions: 1. welcoming Shabbat during COVID with Todd’s special blue cheese martinis. Outdoor movie night and treats for kids and adults became an almost weekly tradition with our families during the pandemic.

2. Staycationing together in Singer Island.

3. Leaving Ritz Club in New Orleans with plenty of treats for the road!!