Alexandria, VA -- Led by Michelle Fried, of Johnson & Johnson, and Patrick Judge, of Beltway Cleaning Services, 14 local professionals broke local and national records by raising more than $859,000 in under 10 weeks to benefit the National Capital Area Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
It was also one of the closest races ever, keeping 400 family members, friends, campaign teams and supporters on the edge of their chairs at the black tie awards gala Saturday night as the judges tallied the final amounts raised by each of the winners. Four candidates (Fried, Judge, Pamela Sorensen and Allison Gurnitz of Coray Gurnitz Consulting) each raised more than $100,000, a first for the campaign.
Sorensen and Gurnitz were first and second runner up for Woman of the Year, and Noah Cuttler of Satellite Broadcasting Communications Association and Seyhan Duru of TURGLA were first and second runner up for Man of the Year.
"The efforts of these 14 individuals is even more amazing when you consider the fact that none of them are professional fundraisers and all have successfully juggled demanding careers and family obligations to raise money for the Society's mission," said Donna McKelvey, Executive Director of the National Capital Area Chapter. "We are absolutely astounded and thrilled by this accomplishment: it is unprecedented."
The Man & Woman of the Year campaign is a national effort to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's fight against blood cancers, the leading disease killer of Americans under 20. Hundreds of candidates compete over a 10 week period in 41 cities nationwide to raise the most money, to be recognized as their chapter's Man or Woman of the Year and to compete for the national title.
Now in its 16th year in Washington, DC, The NCA chapter’s Man & Woman of the Year campaign has led the nation in this fundraising competition: the chapter has been the top fundraiser since 2002 and has produced eight of the last 14 national winners.
The announcement of this year's local winners was made at a black tie gala held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC Saturday night that was attended by more than 400 supporters of the campaign and the 14 candidates.
“Over the past two months I’ve had a chance to get to know all 14 candidates a bit, and I thank all of you for the commitment you’ve made and the amazing non-stop energy you’ve exhibited,” said Kin Deneen, Managing Director of Accenture, the campaign’s Presenting Sponsor. “It’s been an intense competition, and I know it’s a bit cliché, but the collective impact you’ve made really makes you all winners.”
The evening included live and silent auctions, a seated dinner and dancing. The program was co-emceed by Fox5 News Anchor Laura Evans and 98.7 WMZQ Morning Host Brian Egan. Special recognition was given to WTOP's Bob Madigan, for his many years of service to the Society and to the Boy and Girl of the Year, Andrew Hughes and Faith Froehlich, who are both five-year-old leukemia survivors. The campaign was co-chaired by Dave Dorros of CBRE Realty and Tamara Christian of National Trade Productions, Inc.
New to the Gala this year was Adeler Jewelers’ Jewel in the Box. Each of the tables bid on teak boxes containing hidden jewels donated by Adeler Jewelers. Highest bidders were entered into a drawing for a custom designed white gold pendant/pin featuring a 23 carat green amethyst surrounded by .31 carat round brilliant diamonds and valued at $6,000, also donated by Adeler.
Along with Accenture, the campaign was supported by the following sponsors: platinum sponsor Johnson & Johnson, gold sponsors America’s Health Insurance Plans, Friedman Billings Ramsey Group, Inc. and MicroStrategy; silver sponsors, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Blank Rome LLP, Coray Gurnitz Consulting, Douglas Development, Grace Church, PCMA, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, Xcel Energy, Wells Fargo Bank, ZipRealty. Other corporate sponsors include, Adler Jewelers, Bloomingdales and Ketel One and WASHINGTONIAN magazine.
On Friday I was at Demian's getting my haircut. Nicole, my super-awesome stylist asked me mid-cut, "Did Team Cuttler win Man of the Year? One of my clients had asked."
