nyawc gala

tonight we attended the new york asian women's center (nyawc) annual phoenix awards gala with a table of our close friends and as guests of our friend, jay. the evening consisted of a silent auction, a live auction (with an auctioneer), cocktails, and a pretty tasty dinner! two important guests were honored: ambassador sumio kusaka, the consul-general of japan in new york, and andrea jung, the current ceo of grameen america and former ceo of avon products. in addition, two former victims of domestic violence and nyawc survivors told their stories.

i was impressed by the ambassador's attendance and his award acceptance speech. he emphasized japan's commitment to advocating against domestic violence and creating a society in which women can realize their full potential. it resonated with me as japanese prime minister abe has made it a clear priority in the last two years to support female empowerment in his cabinet and his country. kusaka-san's speech and presence at the gala underscored the alignment within the government's top officials. sadly, last week abe's efforts were temporarily thwarted as two female cabinet members appointed last year resigned for campaign spending violations. doh.

we were not as impressed by ms. jung's acceptance speech. despite the passion and fervor she emanated, her speech seemed stilted and unprepared, and frankly i expected much more from the longest-standing female ceo of a fortune 500 company. however, i am interested in learning more about her microfinance organization, grameen america.

the survivor stories left me feeling very uneasy inside - wincing at times and smiling at other times. it's not easy to hear about domestic abuse, sex-trafficking, and hopelessness when you're having dinner with friends. correction: it's not easy to be a victim of domestic abuse, sex-trafficking, and hopelessness.

in the silent auction, i saw that the shiseido products basket had not been bid on and so i decided to put in the minimum bid and hoped to win :) little did i realize that a nyawc volunteer was lurking around, waiting for the mc to collect all the silent bid forms and she scooped me seconds before the form was collected! darn! :p

it was a thoughtful and fun way to spend a thursday night. a couple of our friends got decked out and made it a "date night" :) it's a night to remember! i'm glad we are learning more about the organization and feeling closer to the people involved.

sorry, i was having too much fun and didn't have a chance to take photos!

best: meeting a good friend's new significant other! i've never seen him like this. i feel like, this could be it ...

worst: getting scooped at the silent auction! what the heck .. at least the gift bags had some small product samples :)

smile: with a client in town early next week and the sales coverage out of town that day, i was pleasantly surprised when my boss, gerry, offered to join us for dinner. gerry's been on the road for 6 of the last 10 business days in london and on the west coast, so i'm impressed he's making the effort!