5.19.09: The last of the Spring Balls

The last of the Spring Balls

350 guests partied late into the night with music from DJ Tom Finn.

Last Wednesday night, The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center hosted its 2nd Annual Spring Ball at the Plaza. The glamorous evening featured cocktails, dinner and dancing, and an exciting live performance by Grammy Award Winner, R&B singer-songwriter, Macy Gray.

With 350 guests in attendance, the high-profile crowd of The Society’s members and leaders in fashion and media rocked the dance floor to hit-single “I Try.” The event was Co-Chaired by Muffie Potter Aston, Sara Ayres, Tory Burch, Shafi Roepers, and Caryn Zucker.

The Grand Ballroom was transformed with beautiful décor by Andrew Pascoe.

President Leslie Jones introduced a compelling video produced by NBC on the important work of The Society to improve the quality of patient care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, followed by a heartfelt invitation for pledges by Sotheby’s Auctioneer and Society Board Member Jamie Niven.

Sara Ayres, Macy Gray, Tory Burch, Shafi Roepers, Caryn Zucker, and Muffie Potter Aston.

Guests Included: Robert DeNiro and Grace Hightower, Tory Burch, LL Cool J and Simone Johnson, Muffie Potter Aston, Sara Ayres, Shafi Roepers, Jeff and Caryn Zucker, Tiki and Ginny Barber, Mort Zuckerman, Lyor Cohen, Gilles Mendel, Shoshanna Gruss, Elizabeth Fekkai, Paul and Dayssi Olarte Kanavos, Christopher and Sherman Meloni, Billy Norwich, Valesca Guerrand Hermes, Marjorie Gubelmann, Hilary Gumbel, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Gigi Mortimer, Dennis Basso, Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Natalie Morales, Nina and Mitch Davidson, Lisa Errico, Alexia Hamm Ryan, Peter and Leslie Jones, Leslie Heaney, Lisa McCarthy, Heather Leeds, Anne Grauso, Alexandra Lebenthal, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, Nicole Limbocker, Chappy and Melissa Morris, Meredith Melling Burke, Webb Egerton, Martha Glass, Peter and Jamee Gregory, Sylvester and Gillian Miniter, Alison Minton, Kimberly Kravis Schulhof, Dee Dee Ricks, Gunnar and Claudia Overstrom, Dr. Harold Varmus and Constance Casey, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Warner III, Jennifer Creel, Suzanne Johnson, Heather Mnuchin, Mary Snow, Bobby and Jill Zarin, among others.

Peter Jones and Leslie Jones, President of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Muffie Potter Aston

Caryn and Jeff Zucker

Shoshanna Gruss

Tory Burch

Robert DeNiro and Grace Hightower

Natalie Morales

Muffie Potter Aston, Jamie Niven, Sotheby’s Vice-Chairman and member of The Society’s Board of Directors, and Hilary Gumbel

Derek and Nicole Limbocker

Harold Varmus and Constance Casey Varmus

Heather and Tom Leeds

Shafi Roepers, Event Co-Chair and Alexander Roepers

Alexandra Lebenthal

Chris and Sherman Meloni

Lisa and Chris Errico

Ann Grauso

Tiki and Ginny Barber

Sarah Rotman and Mort Zuckerman

Kylie Case and Gilles Mendel

Muffie Potter Aston and Robert De Niro

Billy Norwich

Guests dancing to Macy Gray’s hit single “I Try”

Sylvester and Gillian Miniter

Martha Glass, Mark Gilbertson, and Alexia Hamm Ryan

Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee Gifford

Valesca Guerrand Hermes

Heather Mnuchin

Bobby and Jill Zarin

LL Cool J and Simone Johnson

Lyor Cohen

Melissa and Chappy Morris

Dee Dee Ricks and Tiki Barber

Gigi Mortimer and Mario Grauso

Jennifer Creel, Kimberly Kravis, Ula Parker, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, and Shoshanna Gruss

Libby Fitzgerald and Lisa McCarthy

Jamie Niven, Hilary Geary Ross, Wilbur Ross, and Lee Niven

Claudia Overstrom

Somers Farkas

Jamee Gregory

Leslie Heaney

Over 70 friends and supporters gathered for The Carter Burden Center for the Aging’s 2009 Annual Spring Benefit Wine Tasting Event at Le Dû’s Wines at 600 Washington Street in Manhattan. Guests were treated to a sampling of wines from various countries and participated in an auction featuring a private tasting by Jean-Luc Le Dû. The Evening’s Co-Chairs were George Brokaw, Hannah McFarland, Duane Hampton and Susan Burden. The event benefitted The Carter Burden Center’s programs and services offered to seniors from Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The Carter Burden Center for the Aging, Inc. is a non-profit agency established in 1971 by the late Carter Burden when he was a New York City Councilman. The mission is to promote the well-being of older adults through a broad array of direct social services and volunteer programs oriented to individual, family and community needs. The Carter Burden Center is dedicated to supporting the efforts of older people to remain in their own homes living independently, safely and with dignity. For more information, please visit www.burdencenter.org.

Executive Director Bill Dionne, Duane Hampton, and Susan Burden

Geir Aune, Susan Burden, and George Brokaw

Nancy Needle, Brian Berk, Ray Wright, and Ellen Karsh

Rhona Richards-Bronson and Beth Marie Reifers

Lisa Ivorian-Gray and Hannah McFarland

Joan McNiff, Meghan Powers, Courtney Fahey, and Amy Kozakiewicz

Paul Powers, Chris Fields Brownie, and Executive Director Bill Dionne

Megan Huston, Hallie Shapiro, and Karla Rubio

Russell Cassar and Lindsay O'Reilly

Jean-Luc Le Du

Jay Horine and Keturah Bracey

Tina Davis and Beth Marie Reifers

Rochelle Freidrich, Michelle Coombs, and Mary Nelson

Betsy Donovan Nolan, Peter Collins, and Beth Marie Reifers

Bill Dionne and Nancy Alderman

Gavin McFarland, Ê David Bain, and Geir Aune

Peter Baran, Maya Baran, and Event Chair Hannah McFarland, and Lisa Ivorian-Gray

Chris Fields Brownie, Bill Dionne, and Camille Le Fevre

Meghan Powers, Amy Kozakiewicz, Courtney Fahey, and Alan Quirke

The 2009 Gray Matters at Columbia Spring Benefit Luncheon took place on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 12:00 PM at The University Club. Special guests Donna Hanover as Master of Ceremonies and Guest Speakers Anne Ford and Dick Cavett joined Keynote Speaker Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Chairman of Columbia Psychiatry.

Anne Ford, Tina Sloan, Dick Cavett, Charlotte Ford, Donna Hanover, and Jeffrey Lieberman

With 240 guests in attendance, this year's Gray Matters at Columbia Spring Benefit Luncheon raised over $120,000, with every dollar going towards research on brain disorders which affect mental functions and behavior. Dr. Lieberman notes that "like the outstanding young doctors I introduced at the luncheon, the Gray Matters fellows represent our hopes for the future of psychiatric medicine. We are fortunate and proud to have them on our team."

Dick Cavett, Rosemarie Liberman, and Vaji Soleymani

Diane Finnerty, Jeffrey Lieberman, and Patricia Cayne

Donna Hanover, Shirin Moinian, Sylvia Lyon Rodman, and Farah Moinian

Jennifer Juzaitis, Joe Pantoliano, and Aspasia Zoumas

Anne Ford, Maria Esperanza Hernandez, and Tina Sloan

Anne Ford, Donna Hanover, and Charlotte Ford

Vanessa Timken-Stelling and Laura Slatkin

Rosemarie Lieberman, Maria Esperanza Hernandez, Connie Lieber, Tina Sloan, and Anne Ford

Anne Ford, Tina Sloan, Connie Lieber, Charlotte Ford, and Donna Hanover

John Richard Thompson, Anne Ford, and Charlotte Ford

Laura Slatkin and Jeffrey Lieberman

Arlyn Gardner and Jeffrey Lieberman

Laura Slatkin and Farah Moinian

Two Saturday ago at Citi Field was Autism Awareness Day with the New York Mets, Lauren and Jim Watkins and radio shock jock Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate hosting.

The day gave event supporters a chance to view the Mets’ plush new stadium as they watched the Mets pound the Pittsburgh Pirates from the luxury Empire Suites.

For years, the consortium of autism groups hosting Autism Awareness Day with the Mets could rely on the corporate support of several investment banks, hedge funds, oil companies and real estate conglomerates to help defray the 6-figure costs of producing the event. Not so in this recessionary year. So organizers had to get creative: “Why not have “Ba Ba Booey” host the VIP party and throw out the first pitch?” asked Event Co-Chair Rich Cronin.

Jim Watkins, Lauren Watkins, Liam Watkins, Rusty Staub, Johnny Franco, Artie Lange, and Gary Dell'Abate

Harrison Saladini, Jamie Watkins, Will Flanagan, Larkin Flanagan, and Luke Watkins enjoying the game in the Empire Suite.

WPIX 11 anchor Jim Watkins his wife Lauren and son Liam with Mr. Met.

“It was controversial, to ask some of the frothiest guys on radio to support autistic kids,” says fellow co-chair Jim Watkins, father of Liam, an 11-year-old autistic boy. “But it turned out to be a risk worth taking. They talked about it on the Howard Stern show for a month leading up to the game.”

Dell’Abate, a longtime Met fan, threw out the first pitch in honor of the 500 autistic children in the stands.

The Westcheser County-based Heartsong, Inc., a music and art therapy program for special needs children, administered the event this year.

Gary Dell'Abate and Mets' catcher Ramon Santos

Gary Dell'Abate and SNY's Kevin Burkhart

“This was the first ever baseball game that my teenage autistic daughter attended, and to my surprise and relief, she had a wonderful time. The New York Mets were accommodating and supportive of all the autistic children and their families who attended the game, said Elizabeth Barnard, who is on the Heartsong Board of Directors.

Proceeds from the event went to eight autism schools and agencies, including Heartsong, Learning Spring, NY Child Learning Institute, QSAC, Alpine Learning Group, The Hawthorne School, Eden II Programs, and the NY Center for Autism Charter School.

Former Mets pitching legend Johnny Franco, Rusty Staub, and Gary Dell'Abate

Sebastian Bach

Clockwise from top left: David Katz and daughter Jessica; Mr. Met with kiddies; Mr. Met greets Lauren and Liam.

Robert Smigel, Gary Dell'Abate, and wife May

Artie Shaw

Chappy and Melissa Morris

George Cooney, Arielle Rothman, and Alice O'Connell

Earlier this month Tim Gunn, Ann Curry, Amy Robach, Meredith Vieira, Natalie Morales, “Real Housewives” and other celebrities gather to honor Hoda Kotb and Kay Unger with City of Hope’s top philanthropic award, the Spirit of Life award at “Woman of the Year” luncheon at the Waldorf.

Kay Unger New York Fashion Show

Janice Lieberman, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, Hoda Kotb, Kay Unger, and Tim Gunn

Erica Levy, Sam Pittman, Tim Gunn, Kay Unger, Day Kornbluth, and Max Pittman

Ann Curry, Hoda Kotb, Natalie Morales, and Megan Kopf with friends and colleagues

Debra Staley, Jill Martin, Leslie Harwood, Janice Lieberman, Steve Gerber, Rosanna Scotto, Amy Rosenblum, Jennifer Goodkind, Marjorie Kuhn, Susan Steele, and Laurie Kamhi

Judy Spiegel, Michelle Herbert, Liora Sternberg, Andrea Schlossberg, Georgia Witkin, Ethyl Gitlin, Carol Antler, Michelle Wolkoff, and Arlene Lazare

Tim Gunn presenting to Kay Unger

Ann Curry presenting to Hoda Kotb

City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. For more information, visit http://www.cityofhope.org.