The 2009 Benefit Dinner is now over! The past few weeks had been a whirlwind in the office and it all culminated on Monday night at Cipriani on 42nd Street.
We all had to get there at 9am to start stuffing the goody bags – this cannot be done until on the day and with 600 bags it was going to hopefully pass quickly. With total team work, this was done by 1pm! Which gave us all time to get ready and ensure everything was ready for the night. This is what a small percentage of stuffed bags look like…
There were five of us allocated to work at the registration desk – this year it went so smoothly and time passed so quickly that before we knew it, we were standing for our respective anthems.
The night was fantastic and we covered a full program. For many, the highlight was the performance of Amber Riley who could have broken windows if she wanted to – her voice is SO STRONG! Also, I loved Simon Gleeson’s performance of Tenterfield Traveller. The Fellows speeches were fantastic and Kevin Sharer and Dave O’Reilly were both wonderful honorees.
So… I guess you want to see some photos. Here we go…!
Here is a candid pic that Bill took.
Bill and I.
Here I am with Good Day New York’s Rosanna Scotto!
Every morning we watch Good Day New York. So it was great to meet Rosanna – it is strange as you feel like you know them as you have breakfast with them every morning. Anyway – I am also her co-host Greg Kelly’s biggest fan… so I let her know! The next morning, she mentioned being the MC of the Benefit Dinner and well… the rest is viewable here….
(Start watching from 1.25 mark – the first part is Greg talking about installing his… printer! By the way – yes I am Jonelle)
Here I am with one of our Education Fellows, Sarah Miskin. Sarah is taking part in the APSA Congressional Fellowship Program and she is from the Parliamentary Library in Canberra. Woohoo to Parl Library gals! Anyway it was great chatting to her and she is taking part in an unbelievable program in Washington that is an amazing experience for her so well done Sarah!
Here I am with Corey and Dianna from Glee! Woohoo! They were very gracious and along with Amber, wowed the audience.
Here we are with… THORPEDO!!!!!! As you can tell from my hair and makeup, it was late but he was a) smaller than I thought he would be and b) SO SO SO NICE!!! He was a great dinner guest and was fantastic with the influx of people wanting to chat to him. Definitely a highlight!!!
The dinner went so well and you can read about it all in our Benefit Dinner wrap up.
Go team go!!!