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Sloan-Kettering Remakes Awards Benefit as Spring Ball

The 2007 Awards for Excellence
The 2007 Awards for Excellence
Photo: Courtesy of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center announced today that the title and format of its Awards for Excellence is changing completely this year. The awards, one of our Top 100 Events, will be replaced by a spring ball in an effort to reestablish the 10-year-old benefit.

Set to host the event at the Plaza’s recently renovated grand ballroom on May 29, Sloan-Kettering aims to make it clear that there is no connection to the Awards for Excellence. “It will be a totally different event from previous years,” said Jennifer Schancupp, the center's manager of special events. The spring ball, to be swathed in pink and orange, “will have a theme centered around orbs and circular shapes, which is why we’re calling it the spring ball,” Schancupp said, adding that final production details are still in the works.Sloan-Kettering expects a sellout crowd of 450 guests at the event, which will begin another decade with something “fun, fresh, and fabulous,” said Louise Hood, associate director of Sloan-Kettering. There will be cocktails, dinner, and dancing with DJ David Chang and live entertainment by a guest artist yet to be revealed. Great Performances will cater and David Beahm Design will handle the decor.

The only lingering component of the Awards for Excellence, proceeds from the event will provide funding for the society’s patient care, research, and education programs.