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2004 Spirit Awards Gala!

Co-chairs and award recipients: (L-R), Event Co-Chair Virginia Nelson,
Ginger Navickas, J. Abra Degbor, Juliann Decker,
Event Co-Chair Dr. Thomas Sullivan, Joan Stiles

Chef Thomas John at the VIP Reception charmed
the room with his recipe for ceviche.

Bob Gottlieb, Board and Gala Committee Member

Carmen Del Rosario, JDI Development Committee Chair,
chats with a guest in front of the photo she won at the auction.

Award recipient: J. Abra Degbor, on behalf of
Verizon Wireless, with husband, Peter Silva.

Award recipient: Ginger Navickas, Director of Daybreak
at the YWCA Worcester, with Shiela Moore,
JDI Board President

Award recipient: Joan Stiles, Former Public Policy Director
of the Coalition, with Shiela Moore, JDI Board President

March 9, 2004; Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston

The 5th annual Spirit Awards Gala was a celebratory time to salute the year-round efforts of the dedicated member organizations, board, staff, and volunteers of the Coalition. The night – filled with multi-cultural music, cuisine from around the world, a silent auction, and an awards video presentation – represented the mission of Jane Doe Inc., to help us all move beyond fear and grief, beyond sadness and guilt, to a place of action and promise.

The night began with a VIP reception, complete with cooking demonstrations by Thomas John, Executive Chef at Mantra, and Gordon Hamersley, Chef and Owner of Hamersley’s Bistro. A silent auction of 80 desirable items such as an autographed Mia Hamm soccer ball, custom-designed dresses, and dinners at Boston’s top restaurants kept everyone bidding up until the last minute. Guests engaged in fierce bidding wars, while helping themselves to wine and cheese. Dulcet music provided by a French violin and accordion duo flowed around the room.

At 7:00 pm, the doors of the Ballroom opened, where guests were greeted by aromas and sounds from around the world. Food stations offering a feast of Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and Indian cuisine outlined the perimeter of the room, and SHARQ performed classical Arab music onstage.

After a period of mingling, dining, drinking, and waiting patiently in line at the very popular Indian food station, Jodi Applegate and David O’Leary began the evening’s program and awards presentation. They were later joined onstage by the event’s co-chairs: Dr. Thomas Sullivan, President of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and Virginia Nelson, AVP and Manager of Community Relations at the TJX Companies. Toni Troop, Director of Development and Public Relations at Jane Doe Inc., then spoke a few words and prefaced the awards video, which was a powerful, poignant testimony of the work of Jane Doe Inc. and the evening’s four award recipients: Juliann Decker, J. Abra Degbor, Ginger Navickas, and Joan Stiles. Tears streamed, cheers lifted-up, and deafening applause filled the room as the four women approached the stage and received their heart-shaped awards.

After the awards presentation, people moved back and forth between the Venetian Room and the Ballroom as the auction prepared to close. A heated frenzy ensued, and when the auction officially wrapped up, the winners had contributed over $12,000 to the night’s fundraising efforts.

Students from the Berklee School of Music provided light Brazilian jazz music in the Ballroom, as the guests ended the night with coffee, chocolate covered strawberries, and mini-dessert pastries.

Jane Doe Inc. would like to thank all those generous individuals and corporations that made the night possible: corporate sponsors, in-kind donors, auction item donors, long-time allies, individual supporters, staff, and volunteers. And a special thanks to the Fairmont Copley Hotel for welcoming us back into their majestic hotel. Because of your magnanimity and support, the 2004 Spirit Awards Gala raised over $100,000!

Jane Doe Inc. would also like to thank its Board of Directors and the Gala Committee for their guidance and assistance.

Finally, Jane Doe Inc. would like to thank our member organizations, whose work to combat sexual assault and domestic violence is the foundation and inspiration for the Spirit Awards Gala.

Pat Capalbo from Wainwright Bank, Committee Members
Bob and Jennifer McMahon, and David and Kathy O'Leary
listen intently to Chef Gordon Hamersley's instructions
for a mushroom sandwich bistro-style.

From the Mass Medical Society and Alliance Charitable Foundation:
(L-R) Dr. William George, Mrs. Joan Crowe, Dr. John Crowe,
and Mrs. Beverly George.

(L-R) Toni Troop, Dir. of Development and PR at JDI,
with Carolyn Crowley and Pat Capalbo fromWainwright Bank and
Kathy O'Leary and the night's co-emcee, David O'Leary.