On Wednesday, April 26, the National Center for Learning Disabilities held its 29th Annual Benefit Dinner, “Voices of Our Children, Voice of Our Future” at the New York Marriott Marquis and raised $1.6 million in support of the organization’s educational programs, information services and advocacy campaigns. NCLD’s benefit dinner is the nation’s single largest fundraising event in support of individuals with learning disabilities. This year represents NCLD’s largest fundraiser ever.

Dr. Scott Gaynor and Al Kahn

This years honorees were, Ms. Dana Buchman, fashion designer, recipient of the NCLD Children’s Advocacy Award, Mr. Alfred R. Kahn, Chairman & CEO, 4 Kids Entertainment recipient of the NCLD Spirit of Achievement Award and G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D, Executive Vice President for Research & Evaluation, Best Associates recipient of the NCLD Distinguished Education Achievement Award. These individuals were recognized for their astonishing efforts on behalf of children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.

“We are pleased to honor three extraordinary individuals at this year’s benefit dinner,” said James H. Wendorf, Executive Director of NCLD. “In their personal and professional lives, these honorees have dedicated themselves to ensuring that all individuals with learning disabilities will succeed in school and in life. It is in this spirit that we work toward creating a society that fully embraces and supports all individuals who struggle to learn.”

Leadership for this year’s Benefit included Fred Poses, Chairman of the Board, Nancy Poses, Benefit Committee Chair, Mary Kalikow, Honorary Benefit Committee Chair, Carolyn Risoli, President of Marc by Marc Jacobs, Dinner Chair, Paul R. Charron, Chairman & CEO of Liz Claiborne, Dinner Chair and Anne Ford, Chairman Emeritus.

Each year the benefit also awards the Anne Ford Scholarship, which gives $10,000 to a worthy high school senior with a diagnosed learning disability who is planning to attend a four-year college. The award was established by NCLD’s board of directors in honor Anne Ford. This year’s winner was Michelle Lintner of Tuscon, Arizona. Other participants in this year’s benefit include Chuck Scarborough, WNBC News Channel 4 Anchor, Master of Ceremonies, Jay Kos, fashion designer, 2006 Art & Poetry competition judge and Hugh Hildesley, Executive VP of Sotheby’s, Auctioneer.

All of us know people – friends, family, co-workers – who have learning disabilities, some more apparent than others. Until the founders of NCLD came along, not all that many years ago, it was a dead end issue for those who suffered from the disorders. It stopped life dead in its tracks for so many whose conditions were regarded as hopeless and even eligible fore institutionalization. NCLD and its loyal and devoted (and tireless) supporters have changed all that. Now the conditions are recognized and dealt with through training, therapy and understanding, so that most cases get to live life like those of us who do not suffer from the various inhibiting conditions.

The mission of NCLD is to ensure that the nation’s 15 million children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities, promotes research and programs to foster effective learning, and advocates for policies to protect and strengthen educational rights and opportunities. For more information about NCLD or the benefit dinner, please visit www.LD.org.

In one of the most glamorous weddings of the year in Miami, Allison Weiss and Dennis Arden Brady, Jr., known as Chip, were married at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens before 250 guests. The couple met while students at the University of Pennsylvania. The bride, a former Elite fashion model, is a private investor. The groom is an energy business consultant at Chevron/Texaco.

Casa Tua restaurant in Miami Beach hosted the Rehearsal Dinner where New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and the Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell, close friends of the bride’s father and father George and Diane N. Weiss, greeted guests. The Weiss family is known throughout the country for their work in their Say Yes to Education foundation, which has sponsored the college education of hundreds of inner-city kids throughout the country.

Chip Brady and Allison Weiss

The bride’s dress was designed by Vera Wang with a 55-karat aquamarine cabochon necklace from Greenleaf & Crosby on Worth Avenue. The bride is wearing her grandmother Rose Nassau’s platinum and diamond wedding band as her own. At the reception the bride changed into a Carolina Herrera cocktail length wedding dress.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Sage Rosenfels and his wife Maria, Florida Panthers co-owners Jill and Cliff Viner, Miss Florida 2004 Kristen Berset, Chief of Staff for Mayor Manny Diaz, Jose Mallea, White House staff member Olga A. Arguello, and NY Yankees Abel Guerra joined the groom’s parents Dennis and June Brady of Dallas, and his aunt Sherry Brady Kennedy in celebrating with food by A Joy Wallace Catering Production Company.

Congratulatory notes were received from President William Jefferson Clinton, CSI: Miami actor David Caruso, President of the Florida Marlins baseball team David Samson, and Spider-Man 3 actress Elizabeth Banks.

In lieu of wedding gifts, the couple requested guests to consider donating to Big Brother Big Sister of Greater Miami, since the bride is a "Big Sister" to 10-year-old Jeanette Dukes of the program; or to consider donating to Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families based in New York City, in which both the two are committee members.

The bride has been a long time football fan and so the couple were delighted to receive a surprise gift from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who was thrilled to know there were now more Patriots fans with the last name Brady.

The Bradys honeymooned in the Bahamas. Moira Forbes Mumma, a close friend of the bride, was not able to make the wedding, so she held a private wedding party for the pair aboard the Forbes yacht, The Highlander. They tied the event into a fundraiser for Mumma’s non-profit The Community Coalition. Allison and Chip serve as Jr. Co-Chairs of the foundation’s events in New York City, Palm Beach and Philadelphia. Allison helped model auction items for the crowd of over 100 friends of the happy couple including Kip Forbes, Don Burns, Hillie Mahoney, John and Marianne Castle, Tom Quick, and Suzanne Young. The night raised $50,000.

LOOT! 2006, the Museum of Arts & Design’s ninth biennial juried exhibition and sale of one-of-a-kind fine contemporary jewelry designs, was presented in the Museum’s galleries on Wednesday-Friday, April 26-28. Renowned international artists, including 22 distinguished designers from Korea and 20 from Great Britain, exhibited, discussed and sold their work. Proceeds benefited the Museum’s exhibitions and educational programs.

Many of the participating artists are among the world’s leading contemporary jewelry designers. Participating artists include Ramon Puig Cuyas, Prince Dimitri, Bettina Dittlmann, Sandra Enterline, Tamiko Kawata Ferguson, Pat Flynn, Karl Fritsch, Kyoko Fukuchi, Gabrielle Gould, Esty Grossman, Heide Hagen, Therese Hilbert , Mari Ishikawa, John Iversen, Svenja John, Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, Alyssa Dee Krauss, Otto Künzli, Fritz Maierhofer, Stefano Marchetti, NanC Meinhardt, Joan Parcher, Carolanne Patterson, Mary Preston, Gretchen Raber, Kim Rawdin, Zuzana Rudavska, Peter Skubic, Marcie Stone and Greg Hanson, Jennifer Trask, Giorgio Vigna, Jonathan Wahl.

The Honorary Chair for LOOT! 2006 was Jane Seymour; while the evening was generously underwritten by the insurers of The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.

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