|
Press Release
New co-chairs named for 2016 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards
D.A.P. grateful for Barbara Keller and Jim Casey’s seven years of service and almost $10 Million raised!
PALM SPRINGS, CA, March 23, 2015 - “We have had an unprecedented seven years with our signature fundraising event,
thanks to the strategic and creative direction of the wonderful Barbara Keller and Jim Casey,” said David Brinkman, CEO of Desert
AIDS Project. “We wouldn’t have raised the millions that we have for client services at D.A.P. without them. Achieving that
financial success has been due, in no small part, to Jim’s company, Integrated Wealth Management, serving as presenting
sponsor for each of those seven years.”
That presenting sponsorship brought $1.5 million to D.A.P. during the galas Keller and Casey chaired from 2009 through 2015, in addition
to the nearly $8.5 million more the galas raised over those seven years for a total of almost $10 million. Negotiations are currently
underway with various companies who might be interested in becoming the presenting sponsor of the 2016 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards.
“While Barbara continues as D.A.P.’s hard-working board chair and Jim remains our steadfast supporter and an important donor, we are so
grateful for the leadership they provided our gala for those seven years,” Brinkman continued. “But we are equally excited about those
who have agreed to fill Barbara and Jim’s shoes for the 2016 Steve Chase. Each of these new co-chairs brings great leadership skills
and access to the multiple networks necessary to stage an event as important as this.”
Patrick Jordan is a long-time member of D.A.P.’s Partners For Life annual giving program, a current D.A.P. board member, and a top
fundraiser for the annual Desert AIDS Walk. Before his local success as a highly-successful broker at Windermere Real Estate, this
honoree of the 2011 Partners for Life Award had a long career in the music industry.
Dr. Suzanne Quardt, popularly known as “Dr. Q,” is a very active member of D.A.P.’s 100 Women annual giving program that supports
programs and services for women and children whose lives are affected by HIV. She also serves on several committees at Eisenhower
Medical Center, as their immediate past Chief of Plastic Surgery, and is an active supporter of the Women Leaders Forum and the
American Heart Association.
Dave Morgan is also a long-time member of Partners For Life, as well as a sponsor of past Steve Chase galas, where he received the 2015
Partners For Life Award. He created the very popular Dancing with the Desert Stars fundraiser and his company, Reaction Marketing and
Promotions, has produced it for each of its four years, raising more than $250,000 for D.A.P.
The new co-chairs are unanimous in their admiration of the leadership of Keller and Casey, who honored local and national luminaries like
Ann-Margret, Annette Bloch, Matt Bomer, CAEAR Coalition, Kristin Chenoweth, Mary Cone, Julian diCiurcio, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Tammy Fox,
Helene Galen, Peter Gallagher, Father Andrew Green, David Kaplan and Glenn Ostergaard, Steve Kaufer, Terri Ketover, Lorna Luft,
Bob Mackie, Barry Manilow, Prof. Luc Montagnier, Bebe Neuwirth, and Karolee Sowle, as well as producers and directors of the
seminal AIDS-themed films And the Band Played On, Boys On the Side, How to Survive a Plague, and Philadelphia – among
other award winners from 2009 to 2015.
During that time, Keller and Casey also brought top-notch entertainment to the annual gala including Morgan Fairchild, Jesse Tyler Ferguson,
Linda Gray, Wynonna Judd, Queen Latifah, Michele Lee, Live It UP! Productions, Donna Mills, Megan Mullally, Joan Rivers,
So You Think You Can Dance, and others. “The Steve Chase has been one of the highlights of the Palm Springs social
season,” concluded Brinkman. “We have every faith that our new co-chairs will put their own stamp on the 2016
gala while making it as remarkable as it has been for the past 21 years.”
###
ABOUT THE STEVE CHASE GALA AND DESERT AIDS PROJECT
As the signature fundraiser for Desert AIDS Project (D.A.P.), the 2015
Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards raised more than $1.3 million. This helps Desert AIDS Project (D.A.P.) to continue serving our
community with primary and HIV-specialty services, including medical care, case management, and social services, like food,
housing, and counseling. D.A.P. also offers free and confidential HIV testing at a number of locations throughout the
communities it serves. Comprehensive sexual health services, including HIV testing, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP,) STI testing and treatment, and well-woman services, are also available at
The DOCK, located at D.A.P.’s main campus at 1695 N. Sunrise Way at Vista Chino in Palm Springs.
To learn more about Desert AIDS Project, please call 760-323-2118, visit www.desertaidsproject.org or find them on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.
###
Contact:
Barry Dayton
Director of Marketing & Communications
760-323-2118 ext 434
760-992-0434 – direct
bdayton@desertaidsproject.org
www.desertaidsproject.org
Source: www.desertaidsproject.org
"Reproduced with permission - Desert AIDS Project "
Desert AIDS Project
For more HIV and AIDS News visit...
Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News |
