Page 2 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - May '23

Page 2, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens

Lady In Red Gala from page 1

• a scrumptious surf and turf meal;
• individual decadent chocolate, ice cream, and gold leaf
accented dessert platters;
• dancing to the wide-ranging repertoire of the Danny
Beck Band;
• a sidesplitting laugh-out-loud comedy set from Las
Vegas icon Rita Rudner;
• a truly unforgettable performance by legendary
singer-songwriter Paul Anka, who capped his 45-minute
set of hits by rewriting the words and singing one of his
greatest songs, My Way, as a tribute to Pope. Kneeling Adriana Holmes and Erika Walter and Mary Ann Gail Worth and Frank Tova Leidesdorf and
at the edge of the stage and holding Pope’s hand, Anka Rizzuto Schwenk Orenstein Christine Lynn
crooned:
○ “We cheer your 29th year; red dresses here mean
more than fashion … while you look great that’s true, this
rosy hue stands for compassion. It starts with our Queen
of Hearts, hope she imparts, her love galore way. So Lois
for you, and all you do, here’s my way, your way …”
But Pope and all the attendees weren’t the only winners
on the night. The two biggest winning teams were the
Palm Beach County Food Bank and American Humane
(AH) because the gala raised more than $1 million for two
initiatives that have long been beneficiaries of Pope’s and
LIFE’s generosity:
• Lois’ Food4Kids at the food bank, an endeavor that
provides backpacks filled with health foods and nutritious Lauran and Almog Olshtein Max Anhalt and Sunny Sessa Holly and David Dreman Ron and Cindy McMackin
meals to hungry children in the region when they are not
in school – on weekends, vacations, holidays, and spring,
summer, and winter breaks;
• Pups4Patriots, a multipronged program under the
aegis of AH and its Lois Pope Center for Military Affairs,
through which dogs are rescued, primarily from shelters,
provided with about a year of specialized Certified Service
Dog Training, and then given to veterans suffering from
PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.
Pope, who eschews making long speeches and galas that
are filled with such speeches, made brief remarks, noting
that when she thinks of the Lady in Red she thinks of it as
the “Super Bowl” of fundraising dinners. She noted while
that she may be the “quarterback” – although she quickly Robin Ganzert with Kim Marti LaTour and George Madonna and Dr. Tom Bill McBride and Florence
quipped that unlike Brady, “I am not retiring anytime Fennebresque Elmore Coffman Seiler
soon” – she noted that she has a team of “coaches” who put
her gala “game plan” into action. Expressing her sincere
gratitude, she cited:
• Members of the LIFE Board,
• Media sponsor South Florida PBS, and its President and
CEO Dolores Fernandez Alonso
• Corporate ambassadors
○ Gianna Bartilson, sales manager, Valentino
○ Sally Kimball, president and founder, Ambassador
Realty Corporation
○ Christiane Ouvier, boutique director, Van Cleef &
Arpels
○ Walter Schwenk, managing director and investment
manager, Wells Fargo Ari Rifkin and Ronit Elena Woltin, Christiane Ouvier and
• Fellow Gala Chair Tova Leidesdorf Josephson Suzi Goldsmith, Rick Goldsmith and Maude Cook Kaci Bloemers
• Grand Honorary Chair Christine Lynn
• Honorary Chairs Gail Worth and Frank Orenstein
• Cochairs Dr. Robin Ganzert and Marti LaTour Suffering from Floaters?
• Entertainment Chair Sunny Sessa
• Inspiration Chairs Holly and David Dreman; Nancy
Pontius, Ari Rifkin, and Patrick and Milly Park
And speaking of the Parks, Pope announced that they had WE HAVE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY
called her that morning and surprised her with a $100,000
donation to LIFE in support of the event beneficiaries.
“Of course, if anybody else would like to follow in
their footsteps with a gift of their own, I can say without EFM
any hesitation that I would gladly and gratefully accept
it,” Pope added.
Pope noted that she is already hard at work planning
the 30th Annual Lady in Red Gala, which will be held
on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17, 2024, at The Eye Floater
Breakers. Among the headline entertainment will be Jay
Leno, the award-winning comedian and longtime former Management
host of The Tonight Show on NBC and current host of
the TV shows Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC and You Bet
Your Life on Fox.
For more information and to buy tickets and sponsorships SPEAK TO US ABOUT
to next year’s event, contact LIFE, (561) 582-8083, life@ YOUR OPTIONS
life-edu.org, or www.life-edu.org.

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