Do not fear death so much, but
rather the inadequate life.
– Bertolt Brecht (1898 – 1956)
More than 200 insurance professionals gathered last night at the Public House on East 41st Street (special thanks to manager Lynette Cesarowas) to raise money for the creation of "comfort packs" for kids undergoing chemotherapy at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx. And, just as importantly, to celebrate the life of Carolyn Sullivan, the precious daughter of Pete (Aon NY) and Jeanne Sullivan who passed away in September from cancer. Here's a photo of Carolyn in her school uniform:
Carolyn was eulogized at her funeral as being a very energetic, fun-loving and friendly girl, who lit up a room whenever she entered. Many mourners also talked about her great charm and sense of humor. Her loss is felt deeply, even by those of us not lucky enough to have known her.
The event was organized by Cara LaTorre and John Vanasco of Aon. Cara, in particular, deserves special mention for the untold hours of her personal time that she devoted to making the event the huge success that it was. Money was raised not only through the admission fee, but also by means of a raffle, with many great prizes, and direct individual and corporate donations.
Dr. Kathy Skae of The Children's Hospital at Montefiore was on hand to make some very nice remarks about Carolyn, who she personally treated. Dr. Skae also expressed the Hospital's gratitude for the fundraising effort.
The event was a great opportunity for friends to catch up with each other. Judging by outward appearances, everybody enjoyed themselves immensely. No doubt, that's just the way that Carolyn would've wanted it.
Below are some photos from last night's event.
This is Cara LaTorre and John Vanasco, the party's organizers. Cara was working frantically at the admissions table shortly before this photo was taken. John was having a drink.
Braden, Quinn & Lubeck is not a law firm (scary thought!), just Brian, Pete and James sharing some war stories.
Dan Flood, Ray Santiago and Simon Beynon talking about how they miss the good old days at AIG working with LG. Or maybe not. That's what I thought I heard them saying but I may have been hallucinating. Those drinks were strong.
Rich "Sunshine" Fachet and Steve "Coach" Troiano share a laugh. They probably won't be laughing when they see their nicknames in print. Steve is actually called "Coach" because he's a mentor for a lot of young underwriters. I wouldn't want you to think that it's because he sits in coach class all the time. That's not the reason. Really. And "Sunshine" is a better nickname than "Moonshine" so Rich should just be happy with it.
Mike Klaschka and Laura Coppola (and industry favorite of mine) catch up on old times. Laura mustn't have been able to find anyone else to talk to at that moment (just kidding Mike...well, maybe not...)
Here we see that Laura was able to peddle Mike off on the lovely and talented Natasha Tarasova, another one of my industry favorites. She deserves better.
In this third and final picture from my time-elapsed photography session, Jason "The Hawk" Hawkins tells Mike that he's done talking to him and will have to hand him off to someone else...
They say that bloggers get all the women...here I'm flanked by Raquel Rongione and Lara Bruzzese, two good Irish girls... They say the camera adds 20 years to men.
Leigh McMullan (prominent member of the John Street Club) and Lori Marino talk about the good old days at ACE, or the good new ones at Valiant.
Dave "Lucky" Lynders and EveAnn "Not-Much-Luck-I'm-Stuck-With-Dave" Cassis (of FETA fame) discuss their former time together at Axis. Unfortunately for Dave, and through no correlation, the Axis stock price rocketed the day after he quit.
Bill "Billy Mo" Morris and Pete Sullivan. Bill volunteered to test an experimental NASA human transporter, much like the one in Star Trek, and is seen here dissolving molecularly just before being beamed up. Unfortunately, the experiment went awry and Bill was only transported across the room next to Klaschka. NASA Scientists are back at the drawing board and Bill is undergoing counseling.
Rob Exelbert, Andy Perterson and George Blume share a laugh and a Coke. Andy, in my opinion, is one of the most talented underwriters in the history of insurance. He controls the Zurich luxury box at Madison Square Garden. I tried to speak with Andy last night about some really important stuff, but it was too loud. We need a quieter place to talk, like in a luxury box maybe.
Ray Santiago and John Benedetto discuss the latest fashion trends. Actually, John did all the talking, Ray just nodded as he looked around the room.
Steve Whalen, Andy Doherty and Lara Bruzzese are shown here. Andy was supposed to be calling Bingo at St. Margaret's in Pearl River last night. Hopefully none of the parishioners read the PLUS blog. I barely read it, so I doubt any of them would....
Pete Sullivan and Car LaTorre.
Jason "Doc" Brown and Tania Chen discuss the current state of the insurance market. Jason is affectionately called "Doc" because he has a doctorate in being cheap thrifty. Not really, but if there were such a thing, he could teach the courses.
Steve Boughal, Ryan Seacrest, Liz Mayo, Brian Wanat and, surprise, surprise, Mike Klaschka (he was following me around) appear here. Seacrest took some time off from filiming "American Idol" to stop by in the hopes of meeting Kevin Sears. Seacrest heard that Sears looks like him. Unfortunately, Kevin never showed up, so Ryan entertained the crowd with behind-the-scene stories from his days working at CNA. Strange coincidence.
Have you ever seen two guys happier to be at a party? This is Vince McGee (not to be confused with industry legend Vince McGeehan of Willis) and Brian Braden competing to see who can smile wider for the camera. A fitting final photo for a thoroughly enjoyable party.
One last thought on Carolyn and her brief but wonderful life. A quote from Abraham Lincoln:
"In the end, it is not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years."