Grace Hightower and
Heidi Albertsen come aboard |
BEST
BUDDIES NEW YORK
The Highlander Sets Sail
For Best Buddies New York
Story
by Roger Webster
Photos by DMI
 EST
BUDDIES New York, a charity dedicated to helping people with mental
retardation, held a benefit dinner party aboard the Forbes
family’s legendary yacht, The Highlander. It was a stormy night in
the harbor, but the hosts were the charity’s founder and chairman Anthony
Shriver, as well as Tommy Quick, UBS Bank’s Richard
Ziegelasch and “Captain” Kip Forbes, so guests
came anyway.
As
it turned out, the rain and wind made everything seem all the more
intimate, glamorous and fun inside the cabin.
Anthony’s
mother Eunice Shriver was there demonstrating the famous
indomitable Kennedy spirit, as well as Becca and John
Thrash, who urged everyone to come to their place in Texas for
the next Big Buddies event in the fall; Elite Models Christine
Schott and Heidi Albertsen; happy and pretty Grace
Hightower; New York Times CJ
Satterwhite with her niece Hannah Flautt; Anh
Duong and her fiance Dr. Pentti Kouri; Valerie and
Nicholas Mastronardi; Tatiana Gau; and Florence D’Urso.
Christine Schott with Becca and
John Thrash |
Committee
members included Pat Kennedy Lawford, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
Astrid Forbes, Alina Shriver, the President’s sister-in-law Sharon
Bush, super athlete Carl Lewis, HBO’s Richard
Plepler, Tod Berks, Michael Abrams, Brad Blank, Ronald Book, Stuart
Cauff, Lisa Cole, Lisa D’Urso, Terrance Dolan, Raul Fernandez, Bob
Friedman, Arij Gasiunasen, Christina Griffith, Thomas Hall, Michael
Hardman, Ted Leonsis,
Alexander Hernandez-Dessauer, Penny and Gerry Klingman, Donna
and Spencer Lader, Philip Levine, Ana Maria Miyares, Jorge
Morilla, Nancy O’Dell, Norma Quintero, Penny Shore Hume and Emi
Toutant.
A
bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy, a reproduction of
the one on display in the Kennedy Center, signed and dated by
sculptor Robert Berks, was the most enticing item in the
auction. It was bought by the Thrashes, which probably means it is
headed for Houston.
Anthony
Shriver and mom
Eunice Shriver
|
Other
items included jewels by Michelle du Pont and a long weekend in the
Dominican Republic near Julio Iglesias compound at Casa de
Campo.
Thousands
of dollars were raised for the nonprofit organization created by
Shriver in 1989, at Georgetown University, to provide assistance
such as one-to-one friendships and integrated jobs to the mentally
challenged.
Since
then, Best Buddies has aided 175,000 people across the country and
around the world. There are more than 500,000 people in the New York
area alone who could use help from Best Buddies and this generous
group of people are going to try to make sure that they get it.
|
