 |
| (Me with Dr. Sandy Halperin) |
Wonderful evening at the Great Minds Gala presented by
Integrace and
LeadingAge. The event was held Monday evening at the Marriott Wardman
Park in Washington D.C.
I was presented with the
Exceptional Friend or Family Caregiver Award for my
bicycling tours to raise money and awareness for memory care activities at
Cedar Community. A huge thanks to Tracey Stroeh for the nomination.
I
was able to meet with Dr. Alexander "Sandy" Halperin (see photo above) - the winner of
the Senator William and Ellen Proxmire Award. You can view
Sandy's Story by clicking
HERE; it's well worth your time to view it. An Excellence in Dementia
Care Award was presented to
Phoebe Ministries that evening, as well.
The evening was fantastic, like an
Academy Award show.
There was opening entertainment from the
Saint Augustine Gospel Choir (click
on the link to hear their performance) followed by presentations, videos and a
dinner of filet mignon, roasted tomato bordelaise, pan-seared dayboat
scallops, and lemon pepper coulis with broccolini and julienne
vegetables.
All of this was followed by a sweet trio dessert consisting of a black & white mousse square, strawberry swirl cheesecake and a chocolate cherry tart.
Some tidbits from behind the scenes:
-During
rehearsal the event coordinator, Sharon Sullivan, kept mentioning 'the
band.' "You'll take the stage after 'the band,'" she said. I knew this
was a high-end event so, being the reporter I had to ask. "Is One
Direction going to be here tonight?" "How about the Fu Fighters... are
the Fu Fighters the band you're referring to?" There was quite a bit
of secrecy surrounding the evening and I was approaching it like a Nancy
Drew mystery with a Rolling Stone twist.
-We were given the option of putting our acceptance speech on a teleprompter. I passed on the offer and figured I'd wing
it. I did awesome! .... everybody said so.
-Some
scuttlebutt at the ceremony indicated the award winners this year would
be presenters at NEXT year's Gala. WOOT WOOT! Another return trip to
D.C. spending time with others who are passionate about Alzheimer's and dementia care progress and cure!
-I totally pulled a
R. Douglas Ziegler and approached as many
people as possible to see if they would sponsor this year's Amazing
Ride for Alzheimer's bicycle tour. I asked permission from the
organizers and the reps from Cedar Community - just to make sure I wasn't
out of line. Hopefully I'll have great success and kick the fundraiser
past the six-figure mark this year!
-The award is crystal and it's going to be on display at Cedar Ridge upon my return.
-I
did have some concerns about the lighting on stage... especially if you
could see through my dress. I felt very Beyonce.... but I figured I
was in Washington D.C. and this was not even close to D.C. scandal.
-A final thank you to LeadingAge and Integrace for the honor of being a distinguished guest and a part of the exciting event that brings us together on behalf of those who suffer from dementia.
