CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A fun event on Charleston's calendar - the annual Jim Dent Dinner that helps support the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center - is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at the midtown Embassy Suites hotel.

Named for the Gazette's late humor columnist and cartoonist, the lighthearted program brings top U.S. comics to Charleston to regale diners at a banquet. Ticket sales last year generated a record $62,000 for the clinic based at First Presbyterian Church, where specially trained ministers help troubled families.

This year's speaker is somewhat a counselor himself, dispensing marital advice through jokes. Jeff Allen's "Happy Wife, Happy Life" message tells of a marriage gone wrong, then redeemed.

Allen is partly a religious entertainer, often appearing for churches and faith-based television channels. But his Web site says he "obliterates the lines between Christian comedians, corporate comedians, inspirational speakers and just plain hilarious."

The Pastoral Counseling Center doesn't book obscene comics of the type popular in nightclubs and late-night TV.

In addition to its home at First Presbyterian, the center also has branches at Cabin Creek, Dunbar and Ravenswood, as well as offices in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and Christ Church United Methodist. Minister-counselors of the nonprofit agency provide low-cost psychological guidance, much of it subsidized by donated money.

Dent, a whimsical Gazette fixture for decades, was popular throughout West Virginia until his death in 1992. Afterward, various friends launched the spoofy Dent Dinner in his memory. The event begins with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner, followed by the guest comedian. This is the 15th annual program.

Corporate tables are available for the Oct. 14 dinner, ranging in cost from $400 to $5,000. Individual tickets are $75 each. Interested people may call the center at 346-9689 or visit its Web site, www.kpcc.com.

Named for the Gazette's late humor columnist and cartoonist, the lighthearted program brings top U.S. comics to Charleston to regale diners at a banquet. Ticket sales last year generated a record $62,000 for the clinic based at First Presbyterian Church, where specially trained ministers help troubled families.

This year's speaker is somewhat a counselor himself, dispensing marital advice through jokes. Jeff Allen's "Happy Wife, Happy Life" message tells of a marriage gone wrong, then redeemed.

Allen is partly a religious entertainer, often appearing for churches and faith-based television channels. But his Web site says he "obliterates the lines between Christian comedians, corporate comedians, inspirational speakers and just plain hilarious."

The Pastoral Counseling Center doesn't book obscene comics of the type popular in nightclubs and late-night TV.

In addition to its home at First Presbyterian, the center also has branches at Cabin Creek, Dunbar and Ravenswood, as well as offices in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and Christ Church United Methodist. Minister-counselors of the nonprofit agency provide low-cost psychological guidance, much of it subsidized by donated money.

Dent, a whimsical Gazette fixture for decades, was popular throughout West Virginia until his death in 1992. Afterward, various friends launched the spoofy Dent Dinner in his memory. The event begins with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner, followed by the guest comedian. This is the 15th annual program.

Corporate tables are available for the Oct. 14 dinner, ranging in cost from $400 to $5,000. Individual tickets are $75 each. Interested people may call the center at 346-9689 or visit its Web site, www.kpcc.com.