It was my privilege to conduct red carpet interviews for My29 WFTC’s ‘On the Fly‘ show Sunday at the 2013 Starkey Hearing Foundation Gala held at Saint Paul RiverCentre.
The yearly event brings celebrities and philanthropists to the Twin Cities in order to raise money that will allowed the foundation to deliver the transformative gift of hearing to people in need.
Starkey Hearing Foundation founder Bill Austin, a member of President Clinton’s Global Initiative, is well on his way to fitting one million hearing aids in this decade for the disadvantaged in more than 100 countries.
This year the gala honored billionaire humanitarian, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. He is pictured above with Starkey Foundation CEO Bill and Tani Austin.
Other honorees were Ashton Kutcher, co-founder of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, Barbara Bush, co-founder and CEO, Global Health Corps, Jimmy Walker, founder and CEO, Celebrity Fight Night, Dennis & Leslie Hansen – Hearing Angel Humanitarians, and Angel Chun Li Zhao of Partners in Excellence.
High-profile celebrity guests included returning honoree President Bill Clinton, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Kristi Yamaguchi, Bret Hedican, Tony Hawk, Forest Whitaker, Shannon Elizabeth, Keith David, Verne Troyer, Lou Ferrigno, Melanie Brown, Stephen Belafonte and Dallas Austin.
The entertainment for the evening was provided by Lionel Richie, Marc Anthony, Matisyahu, Sinbad, Jessica Sanchez and ARIA.
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Photo Credit: On the Fly