Hope Heart Wings of Hope Gala a Success

Ken Hatch, Tom Douglas, Cathi Hatch

On Friday evening, Ken and I attended the Hope Heart Institute Wings of Hope Gala at the Paramount Theatre.  Ken was on the Hope Heart Board of Directors many years ago now and it is always fun for him to see all the new people that are involved in supporting the organization that Dr. Lester Sauvage started over 50 years ago.

Sandra & Phil Nudelman, Sue & Jim Bianco

The Tri-Chairs of the Wings of Hope Gala this year were Vanessa Strickland, Keri Kiefer and Dee Reiff.  We also had the opportunity to meet Liz Quinn who will take Vanessa's place next year as one of the Tri-Chairs, as Vanessa steps down now after being part of the Gala leadership for the past three years.

Kjell Schei, Ken Hatch

Scott Rabinowitz, Staci Snyder

During the cocktail party before we sat down for dinner, we enjoyed seeing Committee members Kate Harrison, Debbie Constantine, Susan Ewaiko, Courtney Womack and Scott Rabinowitz, who is also the Chair Elect of the Hope Heart Board of Directors.  In addition, we saw friends Sue & Jim Bianco along with Phil & Sandra Nudelman, Kjell Schei and Tom Douglas.  It was also fun to run into Danielle Ahmed, whom I hadn't seen in several years, who is now the Theater General Manager for Tom Douglas Restaurants.  And of course, I couldn't resist buying raffle tickets from the cute young women with black angel wings.

The food was delicious and perfectly cooked even though it was an event for over 300 people.  Tom Douglas and his team really do outstanding work.  The auctioneer was Jim Dever, whom I had not seen previously.  In addition to bringing a huge amount of energy to his role, the most memorable thing he did was ride a skate board across the stage in a handstand.  Impressive!

The Presidents of the United States of America

Following dinner and the auction, the featured alternative rock band, The Presidents of the United States of America, turned up the volume and people had a fantastic time listening and moving to the music.  My ears were ringing from the decibel level, but I look forward to playing the new CD that was part of the swag bag we received when we departed.