Faithful support

The debutantes at the 72nd Annual Bal des Berceaux (Back row, l. to r.): Alexandra Giessen, Sarah Rodeo, Stefania Menella, Gabrielle Cohen, Francesca Quintero, and Louise Bonnel. Front row: Emeline de Narp, Zoe Oz, and Marie Creteur.

Saturday May 25th, the ARF Thrift Shop Designer Showhouse kicked off the Memorial Day weekend with the 3rd Annual Designer Showhouse at the ARF Thrift Shop in Sagaponack.

The shop was transformed into six rooms styled by some of New York’s most illustrious interior decorators. Each room incorporated ARF Thrift Shop items as well as pieces donated from the designers own collections.

Rooms ranged from a whimsical bedroom inspired by “Little” Edie Beale to a textile rich living room inspired by the best-selling novel “50 Shades of Grey.” Guests enjoyed cocktails including wine donated by Channing Daughters Winery and hors d’oeuvres donated by the Dancing Gourmet as they mingled and shopped among the themed rooms. By the end of the night 1 dog and 2 kittens had been adopted into loving homes.

Barbara Ostrom with "Webster" and Barbara Washkowitz with "Boschie"

Lora Nelson and Pamela Eldridge

Samantha Kleinfield and Susan Saiter Sullivan

Designer Barbara Ostrom in her room themed "Dan Rattiner's Reading Room"

Ann Madonia, Diane Burm, Sandra McConnell, and Susan Madonia

Jessica Boo, Craig Fredericks, and Beth Parks

Designer Preston T. Phillips

Jean Shafiroff

Jacqueline von Rohr-Scheidt, Barbara Ostrom, and Noelle Marcantonio

Polly Brockman, Pat Kyle, and Lisa McCarthy

Kendell Cronstrom, James Huniford, and Barbara Ostrom

Robert Rufino, Gordon Hoppe, and Gerard Manfredonia

Mercedes Platz, Maggie Copeland, and Challen Hodson

Susan and Ann Madonia

Kathy Wilk (ARF Director of Special Events) and Gigi Mahon (Event Co-Chair)

Barbara Ostrom with Elizabeth Dow

Sara Davison and Sandra McConnell

Bradley Geist with "Gigot"

Annie M. Napoliello

Gordon Hoppe and Gerard Manfredonia

Sara Davison and Jamie Berger

Penelope Moore and Frances DeLabarre

Melissa Tiska, Michele Forrester, and Jamie Forrester

On April 26, 2013, at the 72nd Annual Bal des Berceaux, French American Aid for Children honored The Bic Group in appreciation of over thirty years of faithful support for its beneficiaries, children experiencing challenges in growth and development. FAAFC President Imssy Klebe presented the Children Come FirstAward to Baron Bruno Bich, Chairman of the Board of the BIC Group.

A special donation was presented to The Fund for Public Schools and the NYC DOE, to help support tutoring and mentoring programs between two high schools and two elementary schools for students affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Escorts

Bal des Berceaux 2013 was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, under the patronage of H.E. François Delattre, Ambassador of France to the United States, H.E. Gérard Araud, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, and the Hon. Bertrand Lortholary, Consul General of France in New York.

Ball Co-Chairs were: Elisabeth Cros, Marguerite Mangin, Jeri Sape, and Odile de Schietere-Longchampt. Débutante Committee Co-Chairs were: Francine Bonnifay, Celine Wislin, and Katrin Medrano Turk.

The Débutantes were:
Miss Louise Bonnel, daughter ofMrs. Astrid Bonnel
Miss Gabrielle Cohen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cohen
Miss Alexandra Frances Emma Giessen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Richard Giessen
Miss Stefania Mennella, daughter of Ms. Inez Reksten and Mr. Federico Mennella
Miss Emeline de Narp, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic de Narp
Miss Zoe Yasemin Oz, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Mehmet Oz
Miss Francesca Quintero, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Quintero
Miss Sarah Rodeo, daughter of Dr. Scott Rodeo and Dr. Christine Frissora
Miss Marie Creteur, daughter of Alexandra and Philippe Creteur

Jim Rosenfield, broadcast journalist and former CBS anchor, was The Master of Ceremonies for the presentation choreographed by David Armstrong.

Nicholas Lowry, President of Swann Galleries conducted a Live Auction of valuable contributions from corporate and private donors. Lots include a performance sailing dinghy, extraordinary wines, works of art, jewelry, a studio session with Roger Moenks, and trips to Taormina, Marrakech, St.Lucia, Mumbai, Jaipur and southern India. Winners were Danielle Bellanger, Alejandro Vollbrechthausen, Richard Ortoli, and Patrice de Talhouet.

The Creteur and de Narp families

Notable guests included: Mr. Jacques Leviant, Baron and Baroness Bruno Bich, Gonzalve and Rebecca Bich, Charles Bich, Guillaume Bich, Mario and Gaby Guevara, Gaby Martinez, Edward and Anne Dougherty, Christopher and Cathy Mills, Antoine Treuille, Cecile David Weil, David Sadroff, Werner and Tatiana Ahlers, Dominique Boirone, Dr. Hiroshi Kimura and Mme. Keiko Aoki, Roszell Mack III, Homaira Akbari, David Townes, Frances Lagatta-Shelton and William Bruder, Michael and Joan Kahn, Rita and Joseph Cohen, Anne-Sophie and Frédéric de Narp, Thierry and Isabelle Delaporte, Damien and Anne-Laure de Chillaz, Bruno and Raphaelle d'Illiers, Patrice and Violette de Talhouet, Dr. and Mrs. Mehmet Oz and Oliver Oz, Jerold and Emily-Jane Lemole Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Quintero, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ostrom, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Gress, Mr. and Mrs. James C. Marlas, Mr. and Mrs. Rafael Mirabal, Countess Dagmar de Brantes and Edward J. Westlow, Esq., Mrs. Stanley Weisman, Sana Sabbagh, Susanna Koning, Bruno Cohen, Dimitre Genov, Mr. Jacques Bouhet.

The Somnolet and Volbrechthausen families

Leading supporters for this year’s ball include Cartier, Montblanc, Roger Moenks, Air France, Altour, Breitling, Delta, Exclusive and Private, Harry Winston, Orient Express, Societe Générale, Hermès, De Beers, Tiffany & Co, Bacardi, The Bic Group, Chanel, Dassault Falcon, Dior, Fendi, Epstein Becker and Green, LVMH, Marlborough Gallery, Stribling & Associates, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Steinitz.

All proceeds of the event will be distributed to the following beneficiary organizations based in the United States and France, that extend professional care to needy children: The Children’s Village, Le Centre Augustin Grosselin, France Parrainages, The Children’s Storefront, La Société de Charité Maternelle de Paris, Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club and Surgeons of Hope.

Marguerite Mangin Antoine Treuille, and Countess Caroline de Ravel d'Esclapon

Le Bal des Berceaux has been held every spring since 1942 and is one of New York’s leading débutante balls, attended by dignitaries and celebrities from around the world. A guest list will be provided in the next press release after the ball.

French-American Aid for Children, Inc. is a New York based non-profit organization staffed and run by volunteers. Initially devoted to war relief efforts 69 years ago, the organization now provides financial assistance to developmentally challenged and needy children through programs administered by vetted beneficiary organizations in the United States and in France. Its long-term corporate supporters include Société Générale, Air France, Cartier, Chanel, and Harry Winston.

Dr. Scott Rodeo and Dr. Christine Frissora

Dr. and Mrs. Mehmet Oz

Baron Bruno Bich and guest

Shaune Arp, Adrien Deseglise, and Carlos Lambarri

Julia Turner and Federico Mennella

Mariam Azarm

Anne de Louvigny Stone and René-Pierre Azria

Marie‐Claude and Robert Myers, Joan Rosasco, and friend

Rita and Joseph Cohen

Lucila and Alejandro Volbrechthausen

The Chater family

Céline Wislin and Rodney Lester

Liane McAllister and Sigourney B. Romaine

Wendy Reynoso, Nicholas Lowry and friend, and Ray Cameron

Alexis Azria and Michael Kaye

Jim and Dana Rosenfield

Hon. Bertrand Lortholary (Consul General of France in New York), Michel Berty, and Imssy Klebe

Odile de Schiétère Longchampt and Elizabeth Stribling

Elisabeth Cros and Richard Ortoli

On Tuesday, May 28th, hundreds of attendees gathered at the Center for Jewish History as the American Jewish Historical Society honored Avital Sharansky with the 2013 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award for her efforts in the fight to liberate Soviet Jewry.

The award is presented every year by the American Jewish Historical Society to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment to strengthening the American Jewish community. Avital Sharansky undertook a heroic struggle to free her husband, Anatoly (Natan) Sharansky, and other Prisoners of Zion from a Soviet Russian prison where he languished for nine years until his release in 1986.

Jerome Stern, Mort Zuckerman, Gordon Zacks, Malcolm Hoenlein, Connie Smukler, Richard Perle, Rabbi Avi Weiss, and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein

In addition to Avital and Natan Sharansky, guests included a mix of philanthropists, Soviet Jewry activists and community icons, such as real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and author Elie Wiesel and his wife Marion, singer/songwriter Regina Spektor and her husband Jack Dishel, attorney and activist Alan Dershowitz, Israeli Ambassador Consul General Ido Aharoni, James Tisch, Lord and Lady Weidenfeld, Rabbi Avi Weiss, Jerome L. Stern, and AJHS Chairman Emeritus Kenneth J. Bialkin. The night also included a video message from Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and a written message from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, read to the audience by Ken Bialkin.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the American Jewish Historical Society’s Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement, the largest repository of documents and materials in the world reflecting the history and success of the Soviet Jewry Movement. This will include the development of teaching and study materials, including films and books, to preserve the record of the many examples of heroism and sacrifice of the Jews in the former Soviet Union.

The post-ceremony reception

Founded in 1892, The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is the world’s oldest Jewish historical society and the oldest ethnic history organization in the Western Hemisphere. It provides access to more than 25 million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the United States from 1654 to the present. Among the treasures of this heritage are the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus, which graces the Statue of Liberty; records of the nation’s leading Jewish communal organizations and important collections in the fields of education, philanthropy, science, sports, business and the arts. AJHS is one of five partner organizations at The Center for Jewish History in Manhattan and has a branch in Boston.

Elie Wiesel, honoree Avital Sharansky, AJHS President Paul Warhit, and Sid Lapidus

Avital and Natan Sharansky

Mort Zuckerman

Jim Tisch

AJHS Chairman Emeritus Kenneth J. Bialkin

Singer/songwriter Regina Spektor, Avital and Natan Sharansky, and Jack Dishel

Lady and Lord Weidenfeld, Elie and Marion Wiesel, and Mort Zuckerman

Gordon Zacks, Rabbi Avi Weiss, and Seymour Lachman

John Ruskay and AJHS Executive Director Jonathan Karp

Ellen Stern, Avital Sharansky, Jerome Stern, and Natan Sharansky

Two weeks ago on May 15, the New York Yacht Club in all its architectural glory and yachting splendor was the site of the Preservation League of New York State’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Awards. These annual awards celebrate the rich and diverse architectural heritage of New York State and those individuals who support and encourage historic preservation in our cities, towns and villages all across the state.

League President Jay DiLorenzo and Board Chair, Anne H. Van Ingen welcomed the crowd of nearly 200. Trustee Arete Swartz Warren presented the eight awards honoring projects, publications and organizations that exemplify statewide excellence in historic preservation.

Award winners

Those attending the ceremony and reception which followed included League Trustees and council members Gregory Long, Paul Provost, Kent Barwick, Chiu Yin Hempel, Scott Duenow, Jan Anderson, Anne Older, George Howell, Gerry and Laura Holbrook, Janet Ross, Jean McCarroll, Matthew Bender IV, Karen Arison Georbge Beane, Duncan Barrett, Roberta Breandes Gratz, John Sare, Caroline and Michel Zaleski, Steven Weiss, Stephen Facey, Richard Maitino, Norman Mintz and Robert Kafin. They were joined by Winthrop Aldrich, Suzanne and Richard Clary, Frank Vitale, honoree Rocco Termini and his wife Bridget Termini; Ruth Pierpont, Deputy Commissioner of NYS Department of Parks and Recreation; RoAnn Destito Commissioner of the NYS Office of General Services, and James Jamieson, NYS Captol architect – who were honored for their contributions to the interior restoration work recently completed on the New York State Capitol.

The Preservation League which was founded in 1974, is celebrating 40 years of protecting the historic buildings and scenic landscapes of New York State, and a united voice for historic preservation.