Lively strains of Dixieland jazz and strands of vibrant colored beads
greeted each guest of the 2006 Red Cross Mardi Gras Gala on Saturday,
February 25, 2006 at the Tournament Players Club at Jasna Polana. From
theme to event date, everything worked seamlessly to bring about an
evening full of warmth, celebration and great dance music.
With the sixth month anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just a few days
away, the evening provided a marvelous opportunity to bring the guests
up to date on the activities of the Red Cross both nationally and
locally. The legacy of the Red Cross was clearly communicated by Mr.
Jens Glysing-Jensen’s moving story about his father being arrested by
the Gestapo during World War II and the Red Cross “white buses” being
part of his subsequent release. Mr. Glysing-Jensen had recently
donated to the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey his portion of
the War Indemnification check he had recently received from Germany as
a result of his father’s imprisonment. The Red Cross
message continued through Gala chair, Cheryl Mooney, reading the
personal account of a recent victim of disaster assisted by our own
local disaster volunteers emphasizing the importance of local support.
Guests were further moved when Debbie Shepherd, receiving the Bob
Clancy Culture of Caring award on behalf of Merrill Lynch, told her
story of the Red Cross assisting her family by helping communicate to
her husband in Iran about the birth of their child.
Music for the evening was provided by Mission Dance; from
quiet ballads to energizing rock, they were a band that lived up to their
name given the number of couples on the dance floor! Several local
businesses provided a wide range of silent auction items which helped
bring this event to a net of over $90,000 in support of disaster relief
throughout Mercer, Middlesex and Hunterdon counties. The
success of this marvelous evening was made possible because of the
generous support from community and corporate members. To the
following and many more…we are most grateful.
Celebration
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Long Motor Company
Merrill Lynch
Miele, Inc.
Johnson & Johnson
Benefactor
PNC Bank
Mardi Gras Table
Bloomberg
Capital Health System
Community Liquors
Deloitte & Touche
Echo Mail
Engelhard Corporation
Princeton HealthCare System
Princeton Orthopaedic Associates
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Washington Group International
Yardville National Bank
Special
thanks to…
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics a Johnson & Johnson company
V2
White Eagle
|
|
|