SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK highlights included honoring co-founder Dr. Joanne Wagerson, Mercedes Benz Financial services, and three volunteers of the year – Ethan Gross, Ann Sullivan and Ron Konicov. Some student authors were also proudly signing their published books. Greg Bator conducted a brief live auction which helped the event raise $117,355. Earlier in the month, Beyond Basics hosted a Luncheon at the Colony Club that raised more than $20,000 for the educational mission.
OPEN - Art Exhibition
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1. Linda Ross (left) of Huntington Woods, graduate student Christine Osheim and Corrine Lemberg and Mort Collins of Bloomfield. 2. Graduate Adam Griffeth (center) with Bud Liebler (left) of Bloomfield, and John Henke of Birmingham. 3. David (left) & Elyse Foltyn of Birmingham and committee member Cathy & Jim Rosenthal of Bloomfield. 4. Christie’s VP Tina Zonars (left) of NYC and her mother Lillian Zonars of Bloomfield. 5. Karen Davidson (left) of Bloomfield, Ruth Rattner and her daughter Rena Lewis of Birmingham.
Band of Angel’s Starry Night Honorary event chairs Oakland County Depuyty Executive Matthew Gibb and his wife Deb and Band of Angels founder and CEO Cynthia Hutchison welcomed more than 150 guests to the Royal Park Hotel to fundraise for the non-profit. It is an international advocate for educating, employing and providing opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome, autism and other cognitive impairments. Not only did they achieve this goal ($75,000), they also celebrated Gibb’s announcement that Oakland County would be able to hire up to 20 individuals through Band of Angels’ new Jobs with Dignity program. Following dinner and an auction, guests danced to the music of In Code. To learn more about Band of Angels’ mission, go to www.bandofangels.com.
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Tapper’s of Detroit Wine Auction
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2 1. Event co-hosts Nate Forbes (left) of Franklin and Mark Tapper with his father Howard of Bloomfield. 2. Dana Locniskar & his wife Christine Beck of Bloomfield. (In the foreground glass art by CCS graduate April Wagner of Epiphany Studios). 3. Katie (left) & CCS department chair Don Kilpatrick of Birmingham with CCS student Christiane Mulligan of Detroit. 4. Marla Tapper (left) of W. Bloomfield with Sheryl, holding Sophie, & Tony Dong of Bloomfield. 5. Liz Klos (left) of Beverly Hills with Valencia Morris of Lathrup Village and Connie Hogan of Bloomfield.
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JAM Benefit Cocktail Party
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2 1. Event hosts Renee (left) & Steve Read of Bloomfield & Laurie & Tom Cunnington of Birmingham. 2. Ann (left) & Peter Pretorious of South Africa with Toni & Dale Johnson of Bloomfield. 3. Dione (left) & Justin DeWitt of Sterling Heights with Mike & Diane Vick of Birmingham. 4. Michael Earl (left) of Birmingham, Carey Slease of Washington, D.C., Andy & Becky Keever of W. Bloomfield.
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DOWNTOWN
JAM Benefit Cocktail Party When South African humanitarians Ann and Peter Pretorius made their almost-annual Michigan visit, old friends and benefactors Laurie and Tom Cunnington hosted a social for them at the home of Renee and Steve Read. The hospitality, décor and cuisine were, as always, exceptional as was the view from the Reads’ hilltop lakeside home. It was a sharp contrast to the devastating conditions the Pretoriuses described in South Sudan, one of the African countries where their non-profit relief organization Joint Aid management (www.jamint.com) feeds and educates children. “We represent you. You have invested in us. We take your heart to those kids,” Peter told the 80 guests, many of whom have been JAM donors for years. And they were reassured that, as the Cunningtons have done for 25 years,”…Laurie and I are matching every dollar you donate,” Tom noted. As guests departed they were handed a beautifully wrapped bundle of exotic blossoms tied with a donation envelop, a folk art miniature and another cellophane envelop containing two, crisp, one-dollar bills with a printed note: “Half the world is living on less than $2 a day. $50 will feed and educate a child in Africa for entire an year.” At last report the Cunningtons had received nearly $200,000 for JAM to help children in Sudan and funds were still arriving. Variety’s A Star is Born It should not be surprising that an organization which traces its beginnings to show business would know how to entertain an audience. 06.12