What a night! The food kept coming, the wine flowed, and the songs kept coming! The sell-out crowd of 300 were treated to some delectable cuisine and wines, with entertainment from the talented Mr Frankie Stevens (not to mention Greenlea MD Tony Egan, who got the most laughs by far), education from the brilliant panel, and some hotly contested auction items.
A massive thank you to all of the event sponsors, donors, bidders and supporters who made it such a success. We look forward to putting these funds to good use as we work toward a cure for this awful disease.
In particular, we would like to thanks our wonderful MC Frankie Stevens; Brian King, auctioneer extraordinaire and his support crew; Montana Food and Events; Greenlea; New World Hillcrest; Caiger Charitable Trust; Wintec; JRD Advisory; Print House Ltd.; BNZ; and IT Partners. Without the generous support of these individuals and companies, the evening would not have been anywhere near as successful. It is the generosity of such supporters that enabled us to keep our costs low meaning that almost all of the funds raised will go to research!
We also must thank the generous donors of the many wonderful auction items that helped us reach such a lofty total on the night… the support of the community is extremely touching. And of course, our tireless fundraising committee of Brian King, Ken Williamson, Jason Cowan, Tony Egan, and Kathy Wilson, who twisted arms and ears to not only sell out the event months in advance but also to bring in some absolutely brilliant auction items, as well as our Administrator Amanda Walker who pulled everything together to make it such a fantastic evening for all present.
Our Chairman Jon Tanner kicked off the evening by introducing our three new Board members and our inaugural CEO. Talk about going up a gear! The panel discussion hosted by our CEO and featuring Tony Egan and Professor Maurice Curtis was a hit, with plenty of positive comments. Tony shared the lighter side of living with Parkinson’s, while Professor Curtis shared with us his vision for where we need to go next in the field. The discussion was punctuated by a touching video from New Zealander David Kidd, who is living with Parkinson’s in England—his optimism was certainly infectious! Bernie and Kaye shared some touching words as well, providing plenty of motivation in the room, adding to the call to action from our CEO Daniel McGowan.
Altogether a fabulous evening with lots of fun and much needed funds being raised for Parkinson’s research. Together, we can make a difference!
