THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Bronze Sponsors

City of Palm Beach Gardens

Gehring Group

Marshall Retail Group and MasterConcessionAir JV

Pratt & Whitney

Professional Firefighters and Paramedics

Team Chester

The Peroulakis Family

Verdex Construction

Friends Of The Homeless

The Breakers Palm Beach

Indelible Solutions

With Gratitude and Appreciation, Thank You to the Mayor’s Ball Host Committee

Fred Angelo

Sally Chester

Alexcia Cox

Dina D’Angelo

Cali Davis

Frances Ferguson

James Garvin

Spero Georgedakis & Stacey Elliott

Lara Hanrahan

Ethel Isaacs-Williams

Honorable Rachelle Litt

Michelle McGovern

Elena Peroulakis

Beth Rappaport

Neil Schiller

Lisa Wade

Rebecca Weiss

Behind Every Successful Event is a Sensational Team – Thank You!

The core group behind the scenes – our office staff!

Celissa Stringer, Event Manager, Jesi Moler-Catala, Executive Assistant and Uwe Naujak, Resource Director

To PBC Mayor Gregg Weiss and his wife, Rebecca Weiss for their commitment to excellence

To our incredible co-chairs – thank you! It was a pleasure working with you!

Michelle Diffenderfer, Katrina Long Robinson, Christian Bergstrom, Paul Dumars, Jr. and Ted Peroulakis

Much appreciation to the Mayor’s Ball Working Committee that met for months! Sally Chester, Dina D’Angelo, Cali Davis, Frances Ferguson, James Garvin, Lara Hanrahan, Rachelle Litt, Michelle McGovern, Neil Schiller, Lisa Wade, and Rebecca Weiss

To our Master of Ceremonies

Jay Cashmere your continuous support is much appreciated

Meet Christopher Smith

Christopher Smith is a former homeless person, accomplished board-certified practicing physician in Diagnostic Radiology, and former Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty member. His debut memoir, Homeless to Hopkins, was published in February 2023, becoming an Amazon Bestseller.

Chris’ second career as an author was inspired by his desire to give hope to those who desperately need it, as he needed it in his youth. Chris grew up in extreme poverty and varying degrees of homelessness throughout his childhood, even sleeping in a car for many months during high school.

Despite these challenging circumstances, Chris defied the odds and graduated summa cum laude in just three years for his undergrad. He was inducted into the medical school honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha, for his exemplary work in medical school.

Chris was then blessed with the privilege to complete his residency at Johns Hopkins University, where he stayed on as a faculty member in the School of Medicine for a time.

Chris’ captivating story is a testament to the power of overcoming adversity and achieving incredible success.

With less than a decade between his homelessness and becoming a physician, Chris is sharing his story as a keynote speaker and wrote Homeless to Hopkins. Chris plans to use the proceeds from book sales to fund a scholarship program for disadvantaged youth.

Outside of medicine and writing, Chris’ life experiences have guided him to bungee jump, drive a sled dog team, live in the Yellowstone area, and develop a passion for photography.