I was honored to receive an
invitation to St. George’s Society English
Ball. This year the coveted society ball was held at 583 Park Avenue.
The English Ball, at which
guests wear formal attire with decorations, is the Society’s major annual
fundraiser with proceeds going directly to its charitable programs.
Since it began in 1770 as a
banquet to celebrate St. George, the patron saint of England, it has been with
rare exceptions held every year since and is now established as the premier
English social event in New York.
In 1995, the Society
established the Medal of Honor, to recognize a person for exemplary service to
British interests and/or the international community at large and it was
decided that this honor would be awarded every year at the English Ball.
Previous distinguished recipients include Sir
Win Bischoff of Lloyds Banking Group, Bob
Diamond of Barclays, Angela Ahrendts
of Burberry, Mark C. Pigott, KBE of
PACCAR; Lionel Barber of The
Financial Times; Sir John Rose of
Rolls-Royce; Martin J. Sullivan, OBE
of Willis; and Sir Howard Stringer
of Sony Corporation of America.
This year the Society honored Wilbur Ross, CEO of WL Ross & Co.
LLC. A well-known private equity investor in the U.S., Mr. Ross was designated
one of 50 most influential people in global finance by Bloomberg Businessweek.
“I am honored to have
been awarded the St. George’s Society’s Medal of Honor and to associated with
the organization, which has an extraordinary history of helping British and
Commonwealth nationals in the New York area, said Mr. Ross.
The Honorary Chair of the 2014
English Ball is Hilary Geary Ross,
with co-chairs JoAnne Davidson and Ceasar N. Anquillare JP.
The Society’s Royal Patron is
HRH The Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO, who takes an active interest in the
charity’s work.
St. George’s Society of New
York was founded in 1770 by English settlers for the purpose of offering advice
and relief to fellow Englishmen in need or distress. Its mission today is to
assist disadvantaged people of British and Commonwealth heritage living in the
New York area. The Society provides two major forms of assistance, a
Beneficiary Program helping elderly and disabled people, and a Scholarship
Program at Lehman College (part of CUNY) supporting outstanding students with
university tuition.
Visit www.stgeorgessociety.org to learn more and donate.
Visit www.stgeorgessociety.org to learn more and donate.