Hosting is a Full-Time Job
AWB Goes to Work
Allison Weiss Brady has been hosting from Coconut Grove to Palm Beach, all in the name of fundraising. Allison knows how to raise money and knows how to throw events. From cocktails to dinner parties to big bright galas, AWB was on it, one event at a time.
Being the social animals we are, Chip and I just came off a whirlwind of hosting, mixing and mingling, and just being involved. It’s exhausting, but what’s a social couple to do?
First, the hosting – three back-to-back-to-back events in Miami and Palm Beach! The first was a reception to celebrate my alma mater, Choate Rosemary Hall where I went to high school. Miami socialite Erin Cohen, investor Matthew Storm, and classmates – former Duke linebacker PJ Melnik, who is working on a super cool digital hockey play program called Digital Ice, and star quarterback Mario Perkins – were in attendance. Mario made a surprise appearance, having just moved from New Orleans that day.
Talk about alumni dedication!
A few nights later Chip and I hosted a dinner for Eduardo Glandt, Dean of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Chip is an Overseer at UPENN’s School of Engineering. Among those in attendance were Penn Trustee David Ertel and his wife Beth, Stacey and Howard Shoer, Maria Beguiristain, Rich Vecsler, and George Hain, Vice Dean, Development and Alumni Relations of the Engineering School. For dinner, our chef prepared sea scallops and shrimp in champagne sauce, beef tenderloin with blueberry sauce, creme brûlée, chocolate mousse and an apple tart. Divine!
That same week, we jetted up to Palm Beach to co-host the twentieth anniversary of The Community Coalition, a nonprofit organization that I’ve been involved with for over a decade. Ten years….wow, time passes so quickly. It was wonderful to see the charity’s founder Moira Forbes Mumma and hear about all the good work she continues to do. The event raised more than $30,000. Howard and Michele Kessler, Talbott Moxey, Kip Forbes, Bob and Jane Souaid were there, along with some new supporters – David and Jamie Rosenberg, James Berwind, and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s wife Judith Giuliani. Sponsors included Rosenberg Diamonds & Co. of Boca Raton and Florida Dental Benefits. Rosenberg Diamonds & Co. created two beautiful pieces of jewelry for the event, with the sale of the jewelry split between The Community Coalition and one of their favorite causes the Miami-based non-profit Gene Spotlight. I looked on as the stunning jewelry sparked a bidding war. I saw one wife nudge her husband each time she wanted him to bid. I am going to use that tactic next time I go to GRAFF at Bal Harbour Shops with Chip!
So much for post-event news; here’s some pre-event buzzzzz. I’m hosting an event the benefits the American Red Cross at a cool art gallery in the Wynwood Art District on April 7th. The work is by Eleazar Delgado, whose most recent series is inspired by Miami’s history. His vibrantly colored pieces pay homage to Miami’s first settlers, Julia Tuttle, Henry Flagler, and Carl Fisher. Joining me as hosts are Tina Carlo, Erin Newberg, Amy Rosenberg and Elena Santayana. Contact Jenny Lee to get the scoop!
More buzzzzzz…the beautiful Cristina Echavarria and Dr. Chad Perlyn are launching a new philanthropic arm of Miami Children’s Hospital, the Miami Children’s Young Ambassadors (MCYA). MCYA will enable the next generation of young philanthropists to make a difference in the lives of children by supporting the hospital. Cristina is a mover-and-a-shaker and is bound to make great things happen!
Whatever you choose to support, get involved and make a difference!
Until next time…
Allison
Look for Allison’s upcoming Q&A with Mario Lichtenstein regarding the upcoming 1st Voices Against Brain Cancer “Sounding Off For A Cure” benefit concert with The Beach Boys on April 14th at The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theatre.
Allison Weiss Brady handles marketing for celebrities and non-profits. She is active in many organizations in South Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania including Big Brothers Big Sister, The Community Coalition, Voices Against Brain Cancer, Gene Spotlight, The Barton G. Kids Hear Now Foundation, and one of her family’s foundations Say Yes to Education, which recently partnered with Quincy Jones. Weiss Brady and her husband Chip Brady are members of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and Weiss Brady is a member of the Vizcaya Preservation Luncheon Founding Committee. She on the Board of Advisors at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and she’s the only female on the university’s Football Board. Weiss Brady was also the sole recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2008 Young Alumni of the Year Award, and serves on the Overseers board for the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
