Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Trust for the National Mall Inaugural Benefit Luncheon
Penache

The Trust for the National Mall announced at its inaugural luncheon on May 8 that it raised over $600,000 for the Trust and projects for the restoration and preservation of the National Mall. More than 500 supporters attended the luncheon, which took place on the National Mall inWashington DC, and heard remarks from the Trust's founding chairman, Chip Akridge, National Park Service director Mary Bomar and luncheon co-chair Lydia Logan.

As the only authorized funding partner of the National Park Service (NPS) for the National Mall, the Trust is dedicated to repairing and preserving the Mall while providing new educational and volunteer opportunities that connect visitors to the park's rich history. Through this historic public-private partnership, the Trust will help augment federal dollars and raise private-sector funds needed to revitalize "America's Front Yard" to a place of beauty and enjoyment for generations to come.

The NPS is currently developing, with the feedback of more than 20,000 Americans from across the country, the National Mall Plan that will enhance the visitor experience for generations to come. The Mall plan will serve as the blueprint for the Trust's work.

Mayor and Mrs. Adrian M. Fenty were honorary co-chairs of the luncheon. Co-chairs of the event were Sally and Chip Akridge, Katherine and David Bradley, Jane Lipton and Calvin Cafritz, Mercedes and Giuseppe Cecchi, Leslie and Joe Fogg, Betty and Wes Foster, Emanuel J. Friedman and Kindy French, Marilyn and Michael Glosserman, Susan andLanny Griffith, Hope and Tony Harrington, Ann and Vernon Jordan, Arlene and Robert Kogod, Lydia and Scott Logan, Ellen and Kenneth Marks, Geryl and Frank Pearl, Franklin D. Raines, Norma and Russ Ramsey, Vicki and Roger Sant, Gerald and Ellen Sigal, Shirleyand Albert Small, Trish and George Vradenburg, Diana and Mallory Walker and Mary and Jeffery Zients.

Caroline Cunningham, president, Trust for the National Mall; Mary Bomar, director, National Park Service, and Chip Akridge, chairman, Trust for the National Mall.

Event co-chairs George and Trish Vradenburg.

Jean Marie Fernandez, Kay Kendall, Sarah Walton, and Laura Bode.

Cynthia Reed, Charlotte Buxton, and Lorraine Clay.

John T. Smith and Dane Nichols.

Mimi Dorment, Joyce Doehler, and Lila Sullivan.

Carolyn Williams, Judge Ellen Huvelle, and Joyce Doehler.

Sally Akridge with Pierre L'Enfant character.

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