S o c i e t y — p a r t y b e S t o f — e v e n t S

S a r a G o r e a t t e n d S C H e F t o P I a : t H e 3 0 t H a n n Ua L C H e F S ’ t r I BU t e t o C I t Y M e a L S - o n - W H e e L S o n J U n e 8 , 2 0 1 5

In the words of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy: “The physical fitness of our citizens is a vital prerequisite to America’s

realization of its full potential as a nation, and to the opportunity of each individual citizen to make full and fruitful use of his ca-pacities.” Furthermore, I would add that along with physical fit-ness, the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual health of a nation is vital to its continuance.

Mahatmas Ghandi said, “The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members,” and others have repeated this sentiment in varying forms. Given that the homebound elderly would clearly qualify as disadvantaged members, it is fitting that America’s top chefs would take it upon themselves to ensure that the homebound elderly do not starve.

CHEFTOPIA: TOP CHEFS TAKE OVER ROCKEFELLER CENTER TO BENEFIT CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS

On June 8, nearly 50 legendary chefs gathered for a remark- All

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Robin Roberts, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Lisa Oz

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healthful philanthropy iS patriotic

able milestone: Cheftopia: the 30th annual chefs’ tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels. For this landmark anniversary, Citymeals honored the event’s founding chefs, Larry For-gione and Jonathan Waxman, who, 30 years ago, conceptu-alized the inaugural Chefs’ tribute event as a birthday celebra-tion for the chef and Citymeals co-founder James Beard.

Rockefeller Center was transformed into a culinary paradise by renowned architect and Citymeals board member David Rockwell. Chefs celebrated the past while looking to the fu-ture as they created dishes inspired by tomorrow’s food trends at tasting stations throughout Rockefeller Center Plaza. The highly anticipated event raised more than $880,000 to support the preparation and delivery of nutritious meals, hand-deliv-ered to homebound elderly New Yorkers.

More than 1,200 business leaders, gourmet enthusiasts, food industry trendsetters, socialites, young professionals, chefs, and restaurateurs were in attendance for live music, dancing, and spectacular cuisine.

Some of the dishes included poulet aux morilles and peas à la Française by Chef Daniel Boulud, the co-president of the Citymeals-on-Wheels board of directors, and Chef Aaron Bludorn; pressed duck, ground cherries, and millet by Chef Scott Conant; tongue tacos, fermented chilies, and wild gar-lic by Chef Marc Forgione; burrata, beet polenta, and win-ter truffles by Chef Nancy Oakes; spicy cold ramen by Chef Masaharu Morimoto; foie gras mousseline; bing cherries, and almond brioche by Citymeals-on-Wheels board member Chef Charlie Palmer and Chef Marcus Ware; Affogato (organic chianti wine and strawberry sorbet) by Chef Silvana Vivoli; and a signature chocolate buffet by Chef Jacques Torres.

Nick Valenti, the CEO of Patina Restaurant Group, was the evening’s grand host. The event was chaired by Ninah and Mi-chael Lynne, Laura and John Pomerantz, Randi and Den-nis Riese, and Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch. With the help of beverage chair, Audrey Saunders (owner of the Pegu Club), and the wine chair, Daniel Johnnes (wine director of The Dinex Group), the event also featured signature cocktails from top spirit sponsors and stellar wines from notable wineries.

Beth Shapiro, the executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, explained, “When this event was conceived by Chefs Forgione and Waxman, I’m not sure anyone thought we would be standing here three decades later having raised more than $19,480,000. This annual event is a tribute to James Beard as well as the lifeline he and the co-founder and board chair, Gael Greene, created for hundreds of thousands of home-bound elderly throughout the city. But it’s also a testament to the culinary community and the chefs who have committed themselves to Citymeals over the years.”

HAMPTONS HEART BALL 2015Over 500 guests from Long Island, New York City, and

Palm Beach filled tents at the Hayground School in Bridge-hampton for the American Heart Association’s 19th annual Hamptons Heart Ball. The American Heart Association, proved once again to be one of the most well-attended and successful fundraisers during the summer season, raising more than $750,000 to help in the fight against cardiovascular dis-eases and stroke.

This year, the Heart Ball honored Howard Bluver, the CEO of the Suffolk County National Bank, with the Distinguished Leadership Award and the Distinguished Service Award was presented to David H. Adams, MD, the cardiac surgeon-in-chief at Mount Sinai Health System, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis professor and chairman of the department of cardiovascular surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the president of the Mitral Foundation. This year’s Heart Ball was chaired by Meredith Cohen; the junior chair was Cristina Civetta, a heart surgery survivor; and the

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JonathanWaxman, Stephen Pyles, Larry Forgione, Jacques Torres

Randi and Dennis Riese

Randy Smith, Danielle Smith, Nick Valenti

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master of ceremonies was Chris Wragge, the news anchor of the Emmy-winning CBS 2 News.

The live auction, conducted by Chris Wragge and Cristina Civetta, included fabulous items such a stay in a Tuscan villa owned by the Civetta family, vintage wine, and a table at Rao’s in East Harlem. Howard Bluver donated one of his own very special bottle of wines, which brought the American Heart As-sociation thousands.

Some of the committee members and guests included Ed Sheetz, Joy Marks, Alicia Bellandi, Andrea Wernick, Ran-di Schatz, Glenn, Jennifer Myles, Nicole Noonan, Brenda Sujecki, Terry Thompson, Sara Herbert Galloway, Lau-ra Mastandrea, Elaine Saladino, Bonnie Fuchs, Jon and Joanie Gruen, Debra Halpert, Jill Kandell, Leslie Modell, Anna Rhodes, Dr. Tracy Pfeifer, and Consuelo Costin.

The Heart Ball guests enjoyed eating delicious heart-healthy foods catered by the Garden City Hotel, drinking delightful local wines, having fun, and dancing to music well past every-one’s bedtime.

FINANCIAL SERVICES CARES GALA RAISES $2.4 MILLION IN FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

In early June, the American Cancer Society celebrated its 10th anniversary of the Financial Services Cares Gala. Wall Street comes together annually and rival investment houses unite in an attempt to finish the fight against cancer. It is a great evening with wonderful people who do more than give back; they restore hope to many who have lost hope.

Gala chairs for this year’s event were John Thiel, the head of wealth management, Merrill Lynch; Rob Kapito, the presi-dent of BlackRock; and Rob Arning, the vice chair, market development, KPMG; the American Cancer Society CEO, Gary Reedy, was also in attendance.

Over the previous nine years, financial leaders had raised $9.3 million! 2015 was definitely one for the record books. On this one special night, nearly 700 people joined together to

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Cristina Civetta, Chris WraggeMeredith Cohen, Dr. Tracy Pfeifer

Dr David H. Adams, Howard C. Bluver

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raise $2.4 million, bringing the combined total now raised over the past 10 years to $11.7 million. Funds are still coming in for the event, which benefits the American Cancer Society and the Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund at Columbia Uni-versity Medical Center.

As stated by John Theil: “The Financial Services Cares Gala was a humbling reminder of how committed the industry is to the fight against cancer. On one special night, nearly 700 people joined to-gether to raise $2.4 million. Everyone knows someone whose life has been impacted by this disease. Our sustained commitment to the American Cancer Society and Hope and Heroes organizations is having an impact, and we look forward to continuing the fight.”

American Century Investments and The Stowers Insti-tute for Medical Research were honored with The Financial Services Cares Distinguished Service Award. American Cen-tury distributes more than 40 percent of its profits — totaling more than $1 billion since 2000 — to an endowment that sup-ports the Stowers Institute. Deborah C. Wright, the chair-man of Carver Federal Savings Bank, was honored with the 2015 Eugene D. O’Kelly Award for her dedicated work with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The event hosted a Wall Street “Battle of the Bands” contest, which included performances from executives at Credit Su-isse, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and Morgan Stanley. Steven Delisi, a vice president at Credit Suisse, took home the coveted Wall Street’s Got Talent trophy this year for his rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Proceeds from the event will go to support the Hope Lodge and the Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund at Colum-bia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Mor-gan Stanley Children’s Hospital.

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John Thiel, Rob Kapito, Gary Reedy

Pamela Morgan

David Gidseg, Lauren Saul Gidseg Deborah Wright

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HEALTHCORPS’ NINTH ANNUAL GALA: DR. OZ IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE

In late spring, HealthCorps held its ninth annual fundraiser, the Perennial Garden Gala, at Cipriani Wall Street, to raise funds toward fighting the child obesity crisis and expand the organization’s groundbreaking in-school health education pro-gramming. HealthCorps founders, the visionary Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife, Lisa Oz, served as co-hosts.

HealthCorps bestowed its Yvette and Joel Mallah Crystal Heart Apple Award to four recipients: the CK-12 Founda-tion, represented by its founder and executive director, Neeru Khosla; Chickasaw Nation, represented by its secretary of Health, Dr. Judy Parker; Jordin Sparks, a multi-platinum re-cording artist and actress; and Montel Williams. The festive evening featured entertainment by musical guests The Sug-arhill Gang, Doug E. Fresh, and Kat DeLuna.

Controversy has followed Dr. Oz because of his belief in

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incorporating healing practices beyond those scientifically val-idated or medically supported. Dr. Oz, has, however answered his critics at every turn. For example, he has stated:

My exploration of alternative medicine has never been in-tended to take the place of conventional medicine, but rather as additive. Critics often imply that any exploration of alterna-tive methods means abandoning conventional approaches. It does not. In fact, many institutions like mine use the names ‘complementary’ or ‘integrative’ medicine, which is also ap-propriate. I believe unconventional approaches appear to work in some people’s lives. They are often based on long-standing traditions from different cultures that visualize the healing process in very different ways from our Western traditions.”

Lisa Oz and Dr. Oz, true to form, hosted a gala that served heart healthy food, and offered spirited entertainment. Audi-ence participation had hearts pumping and guests streaming for the exits upon its conclusion only to be gifted with copious quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables and other useful holis-tic items. President John F. Kennedy said, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

If his recent columns and pronouncements were insuffi-cient, the energy and engagement of Dr. Oz at the gala proved that he is most certainly not going anywhere. The fact is, that through his show and HealthCorps, he and his team are doing more to elevate the health and spirit of young Americans as well as the country overall. Dr. Oz and HealthCorps are no doubt at the forefront, seizing JFK’s vision of lifting up and revitalizing America via the health and strength of our youth. To quote Albert Einstein, Dr. Oz seems to accept the reality that “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposi-tion from mediocre minds.”

American nobility lies not in the character of a royal class whose standing was inherited but rather in the honorable ac-tions and conduct of those who work daily among the entre-preneurial and professional classes in commercial enterprises, whether in the culinary arts, as a financier, or in medicine, but whose soul and spirit go well beyond honing and perfecting their crafts for their own pecuniary gain.

These are folks who help create, build, and sustain func-tioning enterprises that successfully employ many people and serve an expanding clientele and yet embody the spirit of giv-ing back in a way that nurtures a more humane, thoughtful, and caring society. On the day of our country’s independence, I salute you all as patriots of a cause greater than your own self actualization. It is enlightened folks like you that not only help safeguard the future of a nation but plant seeds for its ongoing reformation and elevate the common good.

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