JACKSON, Miss., Jul 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Friends of Children's Hospital (Friends) announced today that over
$760,000 was raised at the 2010 fundraiser, "An Evening with the
Mannings, Presented by BankPlus," bringing the four-year total to
$2,460,000. The proceeds from this event will benefit Friends and the
Eli Manning Children's Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for
Children.
"Abby and I always look forward to returning to Jackson for An Evening
with the Mannings," said Eli Manning. "It is rare that my parents,
brothers Cooper and Peyton and our wives are all able to attend an event
together, making this event even more special. We are honored to partner
with BankPlus and Friends of Children's Hospital to help raise money for
the Eli Manning Children's Clinics."
"I was pleased that I could make it to Jackson for 'An Evening with the
Mannings' this year, to support an event that is important to Eli, my
family and the children of Mississippi," said Peyton Manning.
The event was held Saturday, June 19, 2010 at the Jackson Convention
Complex in downtown Jackson. Archie, Cooper, Peyton and Eli Manning were
in attendance with their wives. A Father's Day Weekend appropriate
highlight of the event included on-stage commentary from all the Manning
men on being a part of football's "first family," and growing up
"Manning."
Also in attendance was renowned chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse.
All of the event's catering was overseen and prepared by Chef Emeril
Lagasse's staff.
"I was very happy to return to Jackson to help my friend Eli and the
Manning family in this worthwhile cause for the children of
Mississippi," said Emeril Lagasse. "What a wonderful night dedicated
to raising funds to improve the healthcare for children in this area."
CBS Sportscaster Tim Brando served as the event's emcee, offering guests
anecdotes from his own entertaining experiences with the Manning family
from over the years.
"I can't imagine spending Father's Day weekend with any other family
besides the Mannings," said Brando. "Congratulations to Eli and Abby,
Archie and Olivia on their work for this worthy cause. Cooper's
involvement and Peyton's presence were invaluable to the Evening. My
wife and daughters were tremendously impressed, and I was flattered to
be asked to take part in what was a wonderful program."
Other event highlights included a live auction, as well as a silent
auction composed of signed sports memorabilia, Viking appliances, spa
packages, trips, and fine jewelry.
"BankPlus has a longstanding relationship with the Manning family," said
Bill Ray, BankPlus President and CEO. "It is gratifying to know that
this relationship has allowed BankPlus to help bring this project to
fruition, ensuring a world-class healthcare facility for all of
Mississippi's children."
"Part of the event's success can be attributed to Emeril Lagasse's
talented culinary staff that worked all week to ensure we put on a first
class event," said Sara Ray, Chair of "An Evening with the Mannings" and
in-coming Friends Chairman. "With the help of Emeril Lagasse, his staff
and the Manning family, we were able to coordinate a unique event that
generates a great deal of support for Friends and the Eli Manning
Clinics."
About "An Evening with the Mannings,
Presented by BankPlus"
"An Evening with the Mannings" is part of BankPlus and Eli Manning's
five-year commitment to raise $2.5 million for the Eli Manning
Children's Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. The
2010 event was the fourth in a series of five events to be held annually
in June. The 2011 event is scheduled for Saturday, June 25, 2011. For
information, host and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kristin
Allen at 601.898.8312 or KristinAllen@BankPlus.net.
For additional information on Friends of Children's Hospital, please
visit www.FOCH.org.
About BankPlus
BankPlus, with total assets of more than $2 billion, has over 60 banking
offices in 33 Mississippi communities. In addition to its Belzoni Main
Office, other BankPlus offices are located in Bentonia, Brandon, Byram,
Canton, Clinton, D'Iberville, Durant, Flora, Flowood, Gluckstadt,
Hernando, Holly Bluff, Horn Lake, Isola, Jackson, Lexington, Madison,
Meridian, Newton, Olive Branch, Pearl, Picayune, Pickens, Poplarville,
Quitman, Ridgeland, Shubuta, Southaven, Stonewall, Tchula, Waynesboro,
and Yazoo City. For additional information on BankPlus, please visit www.BankPlus.net.
About Emeril Lagasse
Chef Emeril Lagasse is the chef/proprietor of 12 restaurants including
three in New Orleans (Emeril's, NOLA and Emeril's Delmonico); four in
Las Vegas (Emeril's New Orleans Fish House, Delmonico Steakhouse, Table
10 and Lagasse's Stadium); two in Orlando (Emeril's Orlando and Tchoup
Chop); one in Miami (Emeril's Miami Beach), and two at the Sands Casino
Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania (Emeril's Chop House and Burgers And
More by Emeril). Lagasse is a national TV personality, and has hosted
over 1500 shows on the Food Network, and is the food correspondent for
ABC's Good Morning America. On July 10 he will launch his latest
program with the Cooking Channel entitled, Fresh Food Fast, where
he will show how fresh and local food can be prepared quickly with great
taste. He is also the host of Emeril Green, an original series
exploring fresh and seasonal ingredients, which airs on Discovery's
Planet Green and The Emeril Lagasse Show, which recently launched
on ION Television. His shows Essence of Emeril and Emeril Live
can be seen on both Cooking Channel and Food Network. In addition to his
television presence, Emeril has a live, call-in radio program, Cooking
with Emeril, which airs twice weekly exclusively on Martha Stewart
Living Radio on SIRIUS XM. Lagasse is the best-selling author of 15
cookbooks including Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking which
introduced his creative take on Creole cuisine. His latest book, Farm
to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh was released in June. In 2002,
Emeril established the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to support children's
educational programs that inspire and mentor young people through the
culinary arts, nutrition, healthy eating, and important life skills. As
of 2009, the Foundation has given over $3.2 million to children's causes
in New Orleans, Las Vegas and on the Gulf Coast. Lagasse's restaurant
company, Emeril's Homebase, is located in New Orleans and houses
culinary operations, a test kitchen for recipe development, and a
boutique store for his signature products. Emeril Lagasse joined the
Martha Stewart family of brands in 2008; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
(NYSE:MSO)
acquired the assets related to Emeril's media and
merchandising business, including television programming, cookbooks, and
emerils.com website and his licensed kitchen and food products.
About Friends of Children's Hospital
Friends of Children's Hospital is a nonprofit organization created to
benefit the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center. It was created by a group of dedicated
members from around the state whose purpose is to support and promote
the Batson Hospital for Children, Mississippi's ONLY hospital designed
and equipped specifically for the care and treatment of sick and injured
children. The Batson Hospital prioritizes children's care and places
emphasis on the special needs of hospitalized children. The goal of
Friends is to build a statewide base of community support in order to
raise money for state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and services for
all pediatric patients. Through volunteer efforts and contributions,
members of Friends help the Blair E. Batson Hospital in its fight
against childhood disease and injury.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6350664&lang=en
SOURCE: BankPlus
BankPlus
Kristin Allen, 601-898-8312
Cell: 601-622-3447
KristinAllen@BankPlus.net
Copyright Business Wire 2010
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