“Soar Beyond” was the theme of the 10th annual Discovery Ball hosted by the American Cancer Society at the Hilton Chicago on April 2. The black-tie gala attracted over 800 guests and 150 volunteers and featured a performance by Grammy-nominated country singer/songwriter Hunter Hayes, entertainment by Maggie Speaks (a local cover band), inspirational speeches, dinner and dancing.
During the program in the International Ballroom, emcee Dawn Hasbrouck (Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32) introduced event chairs Diana and Jim Skogsbergh, Advocate Health Care president/CEO. “Today, we celebrate a 22 percent decline in cancer deaths and 1.5 million lives that have been saved, but we know there’s more left to do,” he said. The 2016 Corporate Partnership Award was presented to Walgreen’s and accepted by its president, Alex Gourlay.
Country music star Hunter Hayes performed an energetic 45-minute set that included one of his hit songs, crowd favorite “Invisible.” “This song goes out to anybody who feels like they don’t fit in,” he said. Partygoers packed the dance floor as Hayes encouraged them to join in. “I don’t care if you don’t know the words, make some up, and if you wanna dance, trust me, nobody’s gonna judge — for sure not me, since I can’t dance,” he joked.
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Auctioneer Greg Dellinger brought Mike McGrath Sr., president/CEO of McGrath Lexus, center stage. McGrath donated a Lexus RX 350 that sold for $46,000. He shared that his brother Scott had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (he’s now cancer-free) and that he wanted to support the evening’s fundraising efforts in his brother’s honor. Other live auction items included a Chicago sports experience with Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears and White Sox tickets (sold for $17,000), first-class tickets for two anywhere United Airlines flies (sold for $10,000) and a Soldier Field concert package to see Beyonce and Coldplay (sold for $14,000).
Ann Lurie, president of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, announced that Northwestern Medicine had donated $100,000 to kick off the night’s Raising Hope Challenge. She introduced Dr. Leonidas Platanias, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. “Cancer is a disease that goes back 5,000 years, with the discovery of breast cancer,” he said. “Approximately 8 million people die every year from cancer. We need to end this disease once and for all, and with the great advances in technology, we may be able to do it now,” he added.
Speaker Erin Henkel, a breast cancer survivor, was diagnosed at age 35 and said she felt as if “she’d been hit by a bus.” She noted that because of Herceptin, a drug developed in part through research funded by the American Cancer Society, she is now cancer-free.
The event raised more than $2.4 million for the American Cancer Society to fund cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services.
Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers.
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