Our sincere thanks to the donors who contributed to making this event possible. We can’t give enough credit to the many people who gave of their time and their resources. A special thank you to Steve Paridis and Andrew Friedwald who are on THANC’s Board of Directors for co-chairing the New York Golf Outing at Old Oaks Country Club. We’re pleased to announce that an estimated $300,000 was raised prior to and during the day of the event!
When we began to track the weather service’s projection for Monday the 25th the outlook fluctuated with predictions of foul weather resulting from the many hurricanes down south. Fortunately, our luck held out and our guests were treated to a sunny, cloudless day from start to finish! The grand neoclassical estate of the Old Oaks Country Club stood out brightly against the vast course and radiant green lawns in the morning. Guest check-in, which began at 10:30 am, went off without a hitch. The friendly staff served a buffet breakfast in the club’s large, open dining room where the silent auction packages were located so guests could peruse them throughout the day. Golfers teed off at 12:30 pm and continued playing until about 5:00 pm. The players who were all in good spirits remarked on the beauty of the 18-hole course, which A.W. Tillinghast designed for the club in the mid-1920s.
As soon as dinner guests began to filter into the outdoor patio for cocktails our team of volunteers encouraged them to participate in our raffle, wine grab, and silent auction. The winner of the raffle would receive a luxury men’s Locman watch and a number of premium golf sporting goods. The wine grab promised the potential for winning a very expensive bottle from the private cellar of one of our board members. The silent auction packages ranged from exclusive travel experiences to indulgent luxury services to rare boutique vintage accessories.
After the sunny, temperate day moved into a cool, still evening and our guests had settled into their seats the program commenced. Steve Paridis welcomed our guests, thanked the Foundation and the club’s staff, and introduced the evening’s speakers. Dr. Mark Urken, the Foundation’s Medical Advisor briefly described the exciting work that THANC has done over the past year and the programs that THANC continues to support as an extension of our mission, like the Thyroid Care Collaborative (TCC) and the Head & Neck Cancer Guide. Our guest of honor, Catherine (Kitty) Schwartz shared her moving experience as a cancer survivor and credited her ability to get through it all to the expertise of the medical staff at Mount Sinai Downtown and particularly to the love and support from her husband, Dan and two children. At the conclusion of the program, Andrew Friedwald announced the golf tournament winners and distributed the awards. The day was gorgeous—a clear sky and a clear mission to do good was met with a group of kind-hearted friends, some we’ve only just met and many we’ve had the pleasure to know for many years. Our earnest thanks to everyone that could support us!
