This October the Rene Moawad Foundation USA held its 23rd Annual Washington Benefit Gala at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC and its 10th Annual Miami Benefit Gala dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Coconut Grove, Miami, FL.
The Washington event brought around 400 people from the Lebanese and Arab American Communities, the Arab diplomatic corps, representatives from the State Department and NGOs working in the MENA region together. The Miami event gathered esteemed members of the Lebanese -American and Lebanese-Latin-American communities and many of their friends. Both of these events are designed to support the work of the Rene Moawad Foundation in Lebanon and highlight the brilliance, creativity, compassion, and contributions that members of the Lebanese American community have made to their adoptive homeland by honoring and acknowledging their work and making us all proud to be Lebanese.
In Washington, two honorees were awarded. The first one was Dr. Andre Choulika, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Cellectis. Cellectis is a biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to develop a new generation of revolutionary cancer therapies based on engineered T cells. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Choulika expressed how proud he was to be Lebanese and delivered an inspirational message about his current work to find a more targeted and efficient way to treat cancer, his message was full of hope with the encouraging statistics and examples presented.
The second award of the night was presented to Mr. Richard C. Shadyac, Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC the fundraising arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Mr. Shadyac Jr. was introduced by his brother Tom Shadyac, the acclaimed Hollywood director and producer. These two marvelous men have faithfully followed in their father’s footsteps, the late Richard Shadyac.
In Miami, RMF honored Mr. Alexander Asseily, Entrepreneur and founder of Jawbone Bluetooth, Chiaro Technology, and State, an opinion network website using semantic web technology. The Miami event was chaired by Mrs. Rima Otrakji President of the Miami chapter, and Mr. Tom Abraham, head of the Anthony Abraham Foundation.
In both events, RMF’s Founder and President Nayla Moawad, delivered a speech recounting a few stories of real people who have been impacted by work of the Rene Moawad Foundation, while accentuating that RMF is a non-political, non-sectarian, non-geographically specific Foundation for the benefit of all the Lebanese citizens. Audience members learned about the RMF’s diverse projects promoting sustainable development in order to eradicate poverty, and to provide the Lebanese a life of hope and dignity. The audience was moved by the stories Mrs Moawad shared and how the RMF projects changed the lives of these individuals and their communities.
Both Miami and Washington featured a dazzling fashion show by internationally acclaimed fashion designer Mr. Rani Zakhem, whose breathtaking couturier collection of evening gowns captivated the audience and earned him a standing ovation. In Washington, the audience was also serenaded by the young and rising singing star, Marianne Khattar, who charmed everyone!
The MC’s for both events were both important members of the press, CNN correspondent Sara Ganim in Washington, and chief investigative reporter at WFOR-TV Michele Gillen in Miami, who was supported in her duties by the famous plastic surgeon Dr. Julio Gallo.
In the name of the Foundation, Nayla Moawad promised that with the help of all its partners and supporters she will continue to push forward and fight for a better, free, democratic, modern and prosperous Lebanon, a Lebanon they can be proud of.