From the MDA/ALS Newsletter
Vol. 8, No.11 November 2003

More than 1,200 people attended the third annual Wings Over Wall Street gala for MDA Oct. 2, raising just over $1 million for ALS research in one evening.

Hosted by actor William Baldwin and co-hosted by singer Tony Orlando, the event at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square attracted a crowd of celebrities that included supermodel Bridget Hall, actor-comedian Garrett Morris and baseball great David Cone.

This year’s gala was held in honor of Michael P. Beier, a former director of equity trading at Credit Suisse First Boston and an MDA vice president. Beier, who had ALS, died this spring. His life was remembered in a video tribute accompanied by the song "Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)" by Billy Joel.

Thomas M. Jessell, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University in New York, was presented the Diamond Award for his work with stem cells in the treatment of ALS. (The Diamond Award is named for Toni Diamond, who founded the Wings event with her husband Warren Schiffer in 2001 after her diagnosis of ALS. Diamond and Schiffer both attended the gala.)

Actor William Baldwin hosted the event for the second year. Photos courtesy of Jim Bulgatz Photography.

The Spirit Award was given to Eliot and Marjorie Danziger of Brookdale, N.Y., for their commitment to raising funds for MDA’s ALS program. Wall Street trader Cathy Wilson Rosen of Zweig-DiMenna Associates received the newly created Michael P. Beier Award for her extraordinary efforts in behalf of ALS research.

Live auction items included two guitars signed by the Rolling Stones, tour jackets signed by U2 and a dinner with Cone. In addition, a BMW roadster was raffled off.

In an impromptu moment, a woman in the audience offered Tony Orlando, an MDA national vice president, $5,000 to sing his hit song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." As he sang, other audience members threw money on the stage, raising several thousand more in a few minutes.

All of the funds raised at Wings Over Wall Street will be used to advance MDA’s ALS research program.