Celebrating fundraising events 2007
Each year, a multitude of events held across the country raise millions of dollars to support vital research, treatment and education programs at City of Hope. This column highlights a few of the major fundraising activities that took place during the past few months.
photo: KARINA PIRES> Jess Beim (left), senior vice president of Avery Dennison, is presented with The Spirit of Life® Award by longtime City of Hope patron Irwin Helford at the National Office Products Industry’s (NOPI) 2007 Spirit of Life gala on Oct. 4 in Chicago. Nearly 1,000 industry members gathered at the event to celebrate a record-breaking annual drive that generated $7.25 million. Encompassing fundraising events ranging from golf outings to bike rides, and cause-marketing programs like Sanford’s “Write for Hope,” the effort marked NOPI’s 25th year of supporting City of Hope. In 1998, NOPI directed funds to build the NOPI Center for Biomedicine & Genetics at City of Hope. In 2007, $1.5 million of funds raised through the year’s drive was earmarked toward the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology.
photo: AMYCANTRELL.COM> More than 900 industry executives and other supporters gathered at the Los Angeles Real Estate and Construction Industry’s annual gala on Oct. 4 in Beverly Hills, Calif., to celebrate the culmination of a yearlong drive that raised $1.2 million. During the evening, Spirit of Life® Award honorees Arthur Coppola, Macerich president and CEO, right, and Macerich board chairman Mace Siegel, left, brought the total to $3.4 million with their own personal pledges of $1.2 million and $1 million, respectively. Both men acknowledged Richard Ziman as the inspiration for their gifts. Ziman, chairman of the board of Los Angeles-based American Value Partners and founding chair of the industry fundraising group for City of Hope, was instrumental in introducing Siegel and Coppola to the institution.
photo: AMYCANTRELL.COM> Michael A. Friedman, M.D., City of Hope president and CEO (right) presents Kevin Davis, Bristol Farms president, CEO and chair, with The Spirit of Life® Award at Denim & Diamonds, the Southern California Food Industries Circle’s (SCFIC) 34th Annual Harvest Ball and Silent Auction, while Kevin’s wife, Cindy Davis, looks on. More than 900 of the group’s supporters gathered on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles to acknowledge Davis, who also served as the president of the 2007 SCFIC board of directors, and to toast the group’s annual fundraising drive total of more than $3 million. Since 1973, the SCFIC has generated more than $118 million.
photo: TEAM PHOTOGENIC> Retired Quality Food Centers executive Dan Kourkoumelis (left) and Ron McKnight of Franz Bakeries took center stage at the Pacific Northwest Food Industries Circle’s (PNWFIC) 19th Annual Harvest Celebration Ball on Nov. 3 in Seattle. Each honoree was presented with the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his professional and philanthropic achievements. The PNWFIC, comprising leaders of the food industry in Washington and Oregon, has raised more than $13 million in 18 years.
photo: KARINA PIRES> More than 800 executives from the Southern California construction industry gathered on Oct. 27 in Anaheim, Calif. to celebrate the Construction Industries Alliance’s 2007 effort, which raised more than $1.8 million. The yearlong drive, which included a successful April golf outing, was led by Spirit of Life® Award honoree Bruce Elieff, chairman and CEO of SunCal Companies (center), joined at the gala by his wife, Kathy Elieff, and Michael A. Friedman, M.D., City of Hope president and CEO. Created in 1974, the Construction Industries Alliance for City of Hope began with a group of 10 dedicated individuals and has grown to include representatives from all areas of the homebuilding, construction and service industries. To date, the group has raised nearly $12 million for City of Hope.
photo: MICHAEL TUCKER> The National Home Furnishings Industry (NHFI) raised more than $1.6 million during its 2007 annual drive, which culminated with a gala dinner in High Point, N.C., on Oct. 3 and featured the group’s fourth annual “American Furniture Idol” competition. The more than 700 NHFI members and their guests in attendance also honored John Disa, president and CEO of Wickes Furniture, and Kevin O’Connor, president and CEO of Samson Marketing, with Spirit of Life® Awards. The NHFI’s effort included regional events such as the West Coast Golf and Tennis Tournament in Coto de Caza, Calif., the Hike for Hope in High Point and the Midwest Dinner Cruise in Chicago. Among those on hand to congratulate O’Connor (far left) and Disa (far right) were NHFI board co-presidents Roger Murray of Simmons Bedding Company and Jena Hall of aspenhome.
photo: GERBER & SCARPELLI> Nearly 1,000 members of the Chicago Real Estate and Construction (CREC) Council gathered Nov. 1 in Chicago to celebrate the group’s $500,000 fundraising total and to acknowledge Al Gorman, chair of the board of Power Construction, when he received The Spirit of Life® Award for his work in building one of the most highly respected and successful privately held construction companies in the industry. Congratulating Gorman (center) at the event is CREC Council President Mike Szkatulski of Mesirow Financial Real Estate Inc. (left). The award was presented by Power Construction President and CEO Jeff Karp (right). Created in 1992 by a group of construction and real estate professionals who wanted to help fund the search for a cure for cancer, the CREC Council has grown to include representatives from all levels of the industry, including development, finance, architecture, law and brokerage. To date, the group has raised more than $3.5 million.
photo: THOMAS BROWN> Michael A. Friedman, M.D., City of Hope president and CEO (left) congratulates honoree Thomas F. Motamed, The Chubb Corporation vice chairman and chief operating officer, at the National Insurance Industry Council’s annual Spirit of Life® gala, held on Nov. 10 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The two were joined by nearly 500 insurance industry executives and their guests who toasted a $1.6 million fundraising total. Included in the total was a $1 million pledge from supporters Tony and Sue Markel to create the Markel/Friedman Peritoneal Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.