Jonathan
O'Herron (l-r), chairman of
American Red Cross of Greater New
York;
honoree Geoffrey Boisi, vice
chairman of JP Morgan Chase & Co.,
and Mike Armstrong, chairman and
CEO of AT&T. |
AMERICAN RED CROSS
Speeches
Are Short
But Gain Is Huge
By
Tim Boxer
| " |
 |
NYONE
who speaks more than two minutes gets the hook!” warned Jonathan
O’Herron of Lazard Freres. Along with David A. Coulter, vice
chairman of J. P. Morgan Chase and Roy J. Zuckerberg, limited
partner of Goldman Sachs, O’Herron was dinner co-chairman of the
dinner dance of the American Red Cross of Greater New York, held at
Cipriani 42nd Street.
The speeches were short but the money raised
for this paramount cause reached a tidy $675,000.
Robert
Bender, CEO of American
Red Cross of Greater New York,
presents the
Community
Partnership Award to Lt. Col.
William LaMarr of the
Salvation
Army. |
The Red Cross dinner is one of the most
enjoyable events of the social season. The music is wonderful (Peter
Duchin – how can you go wrong?), the guests are lovely and
friendly, food superb, the atmosphere to die for, the gorgous
centerpieces (majestic red roses) are strictly for take home, and
the speeches, as you know, are short.
O’Herron must have learned the Three Bs of
Speaking:
1. Be
brief.
2. Be
concise.
3. Be
seated.
Actually, dinner chairman C. Michael Armstrong,
AT&T chairman and CEO, allowed the speakers to stretch the
two-minute limit – as long as they increased their donations!
Guest of honor was Geoffrey T. Boisi, vice
chairman of J. P. Morgan Chase, who received the 2002 Humanitarian
Award.
William
H. Weed, vice chairman of
Ray & Berndtson and member of
the Red Cross
executive committee,
presents Community Service Award
to Steve
Paulis, general manager of
NY1.
|
In addition, Robert M. Bender Jr., chief
executive officer of the American Red Cross in Greater New York,
presented the Community Partnership Award to the Salvation Army of
Greater New York, and the Community Service Award to NY1 News.
|
