NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti
and his son Marc hosted a
sold out event, the 23rd
Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner,
at the Waldorf=Astoria to benefit
The Buoniconti Fund to Cure
Paralysis. They were joined by
sports heroes, philanthropic
icons and business leaders who were
out in full force to support
paralysis research. The 2008 Great
Sports Legend honorees were Jerry
Rice, Andre Agassi, Scottie Pippen,
Joe Gibbs, Helio Castroneves,
Richard “Goose” Gossage, Ray “Boom
Boom” Mancini, Angeleo Dundee
and Gabrielle Reece. South
Florida philanthropist Christine
Lynn received The Buoniconti
Fund Award. Special guest and
emcee was sports broadcaster and
Buoniconti Fund supporter, Bob
Costas. The evening raised over $7
million for the spinal cord injury
research programs at The Miami
Project to Cure Paralysis.
“This
dinner and the support we continue
to receive from the best of the best
in sports, business, entertainment
and philanthropy continues to raise
my spirits and that of the
researchers at The Miami Project.
In turn, that support fuels research
and raises the spirits of the
millions worldwide who live daily
with paralysis because we know that,
with clinical trials on the horizon,
the day will soon come when they
will be raised up from their
wheelchairs to walk side by side
with us again,” said an emotional
Nick Buoniconti.
The Great Sports Legends Dinner has
honored an All Star roster of
athletes who have been recognized
for their outstanding athletic
achievements and has helped raise
millions of dollars for the spinal
cord injury research programs at The
Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
The dinner has become known for
uniting individuals from the sports,
business and entertainment
industries. Close to 1,400 people
attended this year’s gala event.
Other notables in attendance
included Olympian swimmers, Janet
Evans, 2008 gold medalist
Natalie Coughlin and silver
medalist Margaret Hoelzer;
Olympic gold medalists Carlos
Boozer from the Utah Jazz;
big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton;
New York Giants Domenik Hixon,
Sinorice Moss and Shaun
O’Hara; sportscaster Lesley
Visser; Star of “Friday Night
Lights” Brad Leland; Former
Olympic swimmer Gary Hall, Jr.;
GM of the New York Mets, Omar
Minaya; from the syndicated
court television show Judge David
Young and dozens of others.
The live auction was an exciting
moment with six-figure bids for
several dream packages, including a
Sub-Orbital Space Adventure for
$120,000 and a Golf Invitational
with Jack Nicklaus for $200,000.
The live auction raised a total of
$550,000 for the organization.
Over the course of the past
twenty-three years, the Great Sports
Legends Dinner has honored 244 of
the world’s greatest athletes and
individuals. They are recognized for
their contributions to the world of
sports and acknowledged for their
commitment to high ethical
standards, dedication to their
community, worthy causes and
achievements as positive role
models.
History:
In 1985, Barth A. Green, M.D. and
NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick
Buoniconti helped found The Miami
Project to Cure Paralysis after
Nick’s son, Marc, sustained a spinal
cord injury during a college
football game. Today, The Miami
Project is the world's largest, most
comprehensive spinal cord injury
research center and is housed in the
Lois Pope LIFE Center at the
University of Miami Miller School of
Medicine. The Miami Project's
international team of over 200
scientists and clinicians take
innovative approaches to the
challenge of spinal cord injury.
Committed to finding a cure for
paralysis resulting from spinal cord
injury and to seeing millions
worldwide walk again, the Buoniconti
family established The Buoniconti
Fund to Cure Paralysis in 1992, a
non-profit organization devoted to
assisting The Miami Project achieve
its national and international
goals. The Buoniconti Fund serves
as the national fundraising arm of
The Miami Project. It is designed to
complement the scientific
accomplishments of The Miami Project
by generating funds and high levels
of awareness.
http://www.miamiproject.miami.edu/Page.aspx?pid=183
The Buoniconti Fund to Cure
Paralysis
Scott
Roy at (305) 243-8939 /
sroy@miami.edu