Brokaw speaks at annual donor gala
AP
Tom Brokaw
Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw headlined the Roper Xavier Society annual donor gala with the history he reported — tales from the Berlin Wall and jokes with Walter Cronkite.
More than 850 people, each contributing a minimum of $1,000 to the Roper St. Francis Foundation, attended the Saturday gala at Charleston Place.
Brokaw reached back in time to the "greatest generation" and the cultural revolution of the late 1960s for inspiration to bear today's burdens.
The evening was punctuated by the folly of the gala's "Casablanca" theme. Staff clad as gendarmerie ran down the halls, blowing whistles and shouting warnings to the crowd gathered by the Humphrey Bogart mannequin and foil plane.
John Holloway, chairman of the foundation, said donations for 2008 were on par with previous years of about $19 million. This is the fourth gala held by the society, the fundraising arm of the foundation.
Economic downturns sometimes seem to have no effect on donors, he said. Two hospital wings were donated in the 1930s, during the Depression.
"Philanthropy is different than business," Holloway said. In times of need, people turn to values of responsibility and compassion, he said.
"In philanthropy, people are looking for more accountability. They want their money used well," Holloway said. "One hundred percent of what we raise goes back into the system."
In 2005, the Roper Xavier or "Rx" Society focused its efforts on the heart and vascular tower at Roper Hospital. In 2006, the society turned its attention to the Roper St. Francis Cancer Center.
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Comments
hairy1663 (anonymous) says...
According to Brokaw while speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe the south is full of rednecks and bigots. I guess he doesn't mind speaking to them as long as he's getting paid for it.
January 25, 2009 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
Yes & his saying that is as intelligent & broad minded as saying that the north is full of hypocrites & cowards.
Behold, the face of a "respected & objective journalist" (Ha!)
January 25, 2009 at 11:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ed52 (anonymous) says...
i wonder if he's over his i hate bush , i hate bush, i hate bush.
January 25, 2009 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Chicago_Thug (anonymous) says...
This man, stopped being an objective journalist many years ago and is nothing more than an apologist for the democrats.
But even he admits they, the media, know nothing about Mr Obama.
ROSE: I don't know what Barack Obama's worldview is. BROKAW: No, I don't, either. ROSE: I don't know how he really sees where China is. BROKAW: We don't know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking about foreign policy. ROSE: I don't really know. And do we know anything about the people who are advising him? BROKAW: Yeah, it's an interesting question. ROSE: He is principally known through his autobiography and through very aspirational (sic) speeches. BROKAW: Two of them! I don't know what books he's read. ROSE: What do we know about the heroes of Barack Obama? BROKAW: There's a lot about him we don't know.
http://obamawaffles.typepad.com/obama...
January 25, 2009 at 4:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hairy1663 (anonymous) says...
blue_eyes, your actually kind of amusing, in a qu--r sort of way. It's pretty evident that you didn't comprehend the point I was making (unlike abitskeptical & ed52). Which makes it even more amusing that you are calling someone else ignorant. It's kind of like a rat calling a possum a long nose SOB, but I'm sure you'll have problem comprehending that also.
January 25, 2009 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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