Master of Ceremonies Bobby Gunther Walsh addresses more than 350 guests
at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s Tennis Auction Ball and Tournament as
the tennis team of Carla Kevitch (left) and Rachel Cohen (right) look
on.
More than 350 guests — many of them tennis enthusiasts — raised
$125,000 to support the mission of the Foundation during the
Northeastern
Pennsylvania Chapter's 28th Annual Tennis Auction Ball and
Tournament. The two-day event, held in February, featured a dinner dance,
live auction and professional-amateur tennis tournament.
Event chairs Drs.
Carla and Robert Kevitch hosted a dinner dance at the ArtsQuest Center in
Bethlehem, where guests had the opportunity to bid on and become the “owners” of
16 different pro-am tennis teams during a live auction. The night’s master of
ceremonies, Bobby Gunther Walsh, auctioned himself for a singles and double
match, raising an additional $6,000.
Becky Leonard, a young adult with
CF, made hope the theme of the event with her powerful Bid for a Cure
speech, which alone raised $35,000.
Drs. Carla and Robert Kevitch chaired the event, which raised $125,000
to support the mission of the Foundation.
Becky explained how the
Foundation has given people with cystic fibrosis — a disease once associated
with despair — hope for the future. Becky was later joined by her father, Bruce,
who asked people to give what they could and then just a little more.
'Truly Wonderful’
Topping off the event, 16 pro-am tennis teams
competed in a tournament at the 24-7 Fitness Club in Allentown, Pa. the
following day. Jill Saunders and Debra Wagner won the Women’s Pro-Am tournament
while Fernando Perez and Tom Garrity won the men’s Pro-Am tournament. Depending
upon how their teams placed, team owners got to select from a myriad of prize
packages that included electronics, trips and shopping sprees.
Linda
Davila Sheftel, a longtime CF Foundation volunteer and sponsored tennis amateur
called this year’s affair one of the best she’s ever experienced.
“The
weekend was truly wonderful. I didn’t think the Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter
could beat what they had done in the past, but this year’s gala and tournament
were outstanding,” Linda said. “I feel very happy to have been part of such an
incredible event.”
The Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter would like to
thank the event benefactors:
- The Weinstein Family, including
Debbie, Harris, Mary Beth and David
And its corporate
sponsors:
- Lehigh Valley Health Network
- National
Penn