The American Heart Association (AHA) recently held its 15th Annual DC Heart Ball, which took place at the National Building Museum. The ball raised more than $1.3 million for cardiovascular research. The black tie event was sponsored by CGI and chaired by Matt Voorhees, CEO and co-founder of Anybill.
Along with this year’s Heart Ball, the 4th annual Heart Heroes campaign honored Dr. Alex Bustamante and Dr. Timothy Welch. AHA and CGI recognized both men for their excellence in cardiovascular care and prevention of cardiovascular disease. The Heart Heroes campaign places a spotlight on talented medical practitioners in the Armed Forces.
The event also recognized Mission: Readiness, which is led by 300 retired generals and admirals senior military leaders for kids health. Mission: Readiness invests in the health and wellness of America’s youth to secure the nation’s future. The group’s Director Amy Dawson Taggart said about 75 percent of young people are not eligible to be in the Armed Forces and that the leading medical dis-qualifier is obesity; adding that this is a serious national security threat. She said the group has worked hard to pass the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which focuses on getting junk food out of schools.
The Heart Ball brought together more than 600 of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.’s most prominent physicians, corporate, health care and community leaders for silent auctions, live entertainment, dinner and dancing.
WashingtonExec interviewed the entertainment for this year’s DC Heart Ball, composer Chris Janney, a few days before the event.