14 DC-Area Professionals Raise $700,000 in 10 Weeks
Campaign Sets New National, Local Records
Led by Dr. George Bitar of Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute and Windy Shepard, of Accenture, 14 local professionals broke local and national records by raising $700,000 over the past 10 weeks to benefit the National Capital Area Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
In addition to Bitar and Shepard, Brian Egan, co-host of 98.7 WMZQ Ben & Brian in the Morning Show was recognized as the National Capital Area Chapter's first runner up for 2006 Man of the Year. His wife was diagnosed with Leukemia last June. Josh Thomas of Cushman & Wakefield of Virginia was second runner up.
Marie T. Platenberg of Smith Barney/Pale Blue Glow Imaging was first runner up for the NCA Chapter 2006 Woman of the Year. Marie's son Stephen is a survivor of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, and she has several other relatives who have battled blood cancers. Catherine Beard, of Baker & Hostetler LLP, was second runner up. Catherine's father, John Beard, is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor.
"The efforts of these 14 individuals is even more amazing when you consider the fact that none of them are professional fundraisers and all have successfully juggled demanding careers and family obligations to raise money for the Society's mission," said Donna McKelvey, Executive Director of the National Capital Area Chapter. "We are absolutely astounded and thrilled by this accomplishment: it is unprecedented."
The Man & Woman of the Year campaign is a national effort to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's fight against blood cancers, the leading disease killer of Americans under 20. Hundreds of candidates compete over a 10 week period in 41 cities nationwide to raise the most money and to be recognized as their chapter's Man or the Woman of the Year. After all local competitions are concluded national winners are decided.
Now in its 15th year in Washington, DC, The Man & Woman of the Year campaign has been a leader in the fundraising competition: the chapter has been the nation's top fundraiser since 2002 and has produced seven of the last 12 national winners.
The announcement of this year's local winners was made at a black tie gala held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in downtown Washington, DC Saturday night that was attended by 400 Washingtonians who supported the campaign and the 14 candidates.
On behalf of Accenture's 3,000 employees in the Washington region, it is my privelege to participate in this campaign for the sixth consecutive year," said Stan Gutkowski, Managing Director, Metro Washington Area, Accenture, which is the campaign's Presenting Sponsor. "And we are especially proud of Windy Shepard, one of our Washington-based consultants, for making this commitment and dedicating so much of herself to this wonderful cause."
The evening included live and silent auctions, a seated dinner and dancing. The program was emceed by Fox5 News Anchor Laura Evans, and by the campaign Co-chairs, Dave Dorros of CBRE Realty Finance and Tamara Christian of National Trade Productions and the NCA chapter's 2004 Woman of the Year. Special recognition was given to WTOP's Bob Madigan, for his many years of service to the Society.
Along with Accenture, the campaign was supported by the following sponsors: Washington Consulting, an ALION company, IMC, Credit Suisse First Boston, LLC, AOL, LLC, Baker & Hostetler, BB&T, Capitol Trust, CBRE Realty Finance, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Spriggs & Hollingsworth, Bloomingdale's, DC Style and Ketel One Vodka.
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About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest private organization concerned solely with funding research toward cures for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. The Society was established in 1949 as the deVilliers Foundation, named in memory of Robert Roesler deVilliers who died of leukemia at the age of sixteen. The Society is dedicated to being one of the top-rated voluntary health agencies in terms of dollars that directly fund the mission: 76% of the Society's expenditures are directed to research, patient and community services, advocacy and education. The Society has 66 chapters nationwide, and the National Capital Area Chapter is the highest revenue-generating chapter in the nation. The National Capital Area Chapter serves Washington, DC; the Maryland counties of Prince George and Montgomery; and the Virginia counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, and Prince William. More than 1,000 patients and more than 4,000 family members are served each year in this chapter. The chapter is expected to raise about $12million gross this year; the Society is expected to raise $238 million gross this year.
About the candidates
2006 candidates include Kendra Barnett of Deloitte Services LP, Catherine Beard of Baker & Hostetler LLP, Dr. George Bitar of Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute, Josh Carin of Geppetto Catering, Greg Dost of Corporate Executive Board, Brian Egan of 98.7 WMZQ, Dana Huston of Genentech BioOncology, Amy Johnson of Washington Consulting, Inc., an Alion Company, Maggie Nelson, Monika Palmore of Industrial Steam Cleaning, Marie Platenberg of Smith Barney, Windy Shepard of Accenture, Josh Thomas of Cushman & Wakefield of Virginia, and Stacy Watts of Watts Group, LLC.
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