Dinner of Champions
The
MS Dinner of Champions was
a huge success, raising $100,000 towards the fight against multiple sclerosis.
Immediately 40% of the money raised will go towards research with a goal of
finding the cause, prevention and cure for this devastating illness. The remainder
will go towards quality of life programs for local community residents who must
live with the effects of MS on a daily basis.
We were thrilled this year to honor two men who have made tremendous contributions
in their respective fields as well as to the greater community:
Joe
Montana
the former 49er, and "Hall of Famer" received the "Sports"
Silver Hope Award. This is the highest honor the Society can bestow for his
lifetime of dedication and hard work both on and off the playing field. During
the evening, Robert Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Linear Technology, bid on and
won a personally autographed football and picture with the game's greatest quarterback.
As Joe made his acceptance remarks, he called upon each table for one more round
of bidding. He rallied the tables with a promise that the table reaching into
their pockets and giving the most money to the evening's benefit, would be taken
to lunch at the restaurant of their choice . . . by Mr. Montana himself! This
surprise gift went to Network Appliance, whose tablemates raised a total of
$3,320! In all, Joe's magnanimous gesture raised an additional $10,000 on the
spur of the moment.
The
dinner was a fantastic success in other respects as well, as we recognized Paul
O'Lone, who was diagnosed with MS in 1997, and very recently opened
the first fully accessible fitness center in the South Bay. For his triumph
over MS, Paul received the MS Achievement Award. It was a great privilege
to honor these three phenomenal individuals and to thank them that evening for
joining in the fight to end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis.