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Miami Herald-Broward Edition
From the moment revelers sauntered through the famous doors of the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, you could feel it: The energy, the vibe and entertaining atmosphere swept partygoers into an over-the-top fundraising phenom. A who's who turned out to celebrate the 15th Annual Best Buddies Miami Gala: Italia presented by Audi and Sterling Foundation Management, including local notables, movie stars, sports legends such as Best Buddies founder Anthony Shriver and his wife Alina, Barbara Becker, Juan Bollini Miss U.S.A. Alyssa M. Campanella, Sara and Ugo Colombo, Dottie and Bill Fauerbach, Vivica A. Fox, Melissa and Marc Ganzi, Evander Holyfield, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, Khan, Jeff Softer Anja Kaehny, Penney and Gerry Klingman, Philip Levine, Carl Lewis, Cristina Lindemann and George Lindemann, Michael Patrick, Lisa and Donald Pliner, and Marlyne Sexton, to name a few.
The gala, chaired by Brett Ratner and co-chaired by Steve Birkhold, Larry Boland, Richard Booth, Romero Britto, Marko Dimitrijevic, Johan de Nysschen, Jeanie Hernandez, May Liang and Jim Lintott, Alina and Anthony K. Shriver, and Don Soffer, welcomed more than 850 partygoers who helped pay tribute to Buddies' expansion into Italy with a festive Italian-themed evening.
The auction, chaired by Alina Shriver, was a huge highlight of the evening and featured tickets to the American Idol finale, lunch with producerdirector Brett Ratner and a walk-on role in his next film, and tickets to a live-taping of Dancing with the Stars, paired with two first-class tickets on American Airlines, and a totally chic fashion extravaganza featuring clothing by the Italian brand 100% Capri of Bal Harbour and jewelry by Piaget, as modeled by Best Buddies participants. And what better way to end the evening than with a big bang. Oh, yes, shoes were kicked off and the jamming began as the Best Buddies Bash commenced with a rockin' performance by party rockers LMFAO singing their hits including "Party Rock," "I'm in Miami" and "Sexy and I Know It."
The gala raised $1.5 million in total donations a record amount for event for Best Buddies International, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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