Gala for Life Raises More than $915,000 for Cancer Research
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Five-year-old Asher Ray poses at the Gala with Gov. Mike and Ginger Beebe.
UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., poses with Jennifer and Steve Ronnel.
(Left to right) Gala for Life chairs Denise and Hershey Garner, M.D., J.D., take a moment with UAMS Medical Center CEO Roxane Townsend, M.D.
(Left to right) Kent Westbrook, M.D., and his wife, Jonnie, visit with Pat Walker at the Gala for Life reception.
Kimo Stine, M.D., (left) and Richard Nicholas, M.D., greet 5-year-old Asher Ray and her mom, Susan, upon their arrival at the Gala for Life.
Gov. Mike Beebe accepts the Pat and Willard Walker Tribute Award, which was presented to him and First lady Ginger Beebe (left). Joining them on stage is Peter Emanuel, M.D., Cancer Institute director.
Oct. 1, 2014 | Arkansas Gov. Mike and first lady Ginger Beebe may have been the honorees for the 2014 UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Gala for Life, but it was 5-year-old Asher Ray who stole the show.
Diagnosed two years ago with Ewing sarcoma, Asher, along with her mom and grandmother, were special guests at the black-tie dinner Sept. 26 at Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center. Ewing sarcoma is a rare bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
About 900 guests attended the event, which raised more than $915,000 for the UAMS Cancer Institute. A portion of the proceeds benefited research programs at the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Center at the Cancer Institute and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), an affiliate of UAMS.
Asher was one of the patients featured in a video about the center and joined the Beebes on stage as they accepted the Pat and Willard Walker Tribute Award for their years of dedication to the Cancer Institute and health care in Arkansas.
“When you think about why you should support cancer research, you’re looking at it right here,” Gov. Beebe said about Asher, who was recently rediagnosed after being deemed cancer free for several months.
She has undergone surgery and chemotherapy at ACH, in addition to radiation therapy at the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center, the only facility in Arkansas to offer specialized radiation therapy for children. Her surgeon, Corey Montgomery, M.D., is one of only two fellowship-trained orthopaedic oncologists in Arkansas, along with Richard Nicholas, M.D., director of the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Center.
The Gala for Life was chaired by Denise and Hershey Garner, M.D., J.D., of Fayetteville. Hershey Garner is a radiation oncologist at Highlands Oncology Group, which works collaboratively with the UAMS Cancer Institute to offer clinical trials and comprehensive cancer treatment to Arkansans in northwest Arkansas. KTHV news anchor Craig O’Neill was master of ceremonies.
Gala for Life founding sponsor is the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation. Donations made by guests that evening totaled $296,000, which included matching gifts by Gene Joyce, M.D., and family and Marge and Tom Schueck. View a complete list of sponsors here.
Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception, dinner catered by the Marriott Little Rock executive chef and a surprise performance by The Three Waiters, an internationally recognized trio of opera singers disguised as waiters. Closing the evening was a private concert by Emerald City Band, a high-energy dance band from Dallas.