Boldface names weren’t lacking at the 2007 gala salute for public television’s Channel Thirteen and WLIW on Monday, April 30. Attended by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Barbara Walters, and Martha Stewart, the event raised $3.5 million. But the surprise show-stealer was former President Bill Clinton.
Kellie Castruita Specter, Thirteen/WLIW’s director of corporate and media relations, only learned a week before the event that Clinton would be able to introduce his friend Steven Rattner, managing principal of private investment firm Quadrangle Group and the night’s honoree. As the planners couldn’t be sure when the busy Clinton would be able to come, “We planned for a few different scenarios and just remained flexible,” Castruita Specter said. As it turned out, the former president arrived shortly before 7 p.m., when guests were supposed to move from the cocktail area on Gotham Hall’s balcony to the main room downstairs for dinner. A voice over the loudspeaker summoned attendees to their seats, announcing the arrival of a special guest, and then Clinton spoke on the main stage to kick off the main event, which included additional speeches and a performance by Harry Connick Jr.
Kellie Castruita Specter, Thirteen/WLIW’s director of corporate and media relations, only learned a week before the event that Clinton would be able to introduce his friend Steven Rattner, managing principal of private investment firm Quadrangle Group and the night’s honoree. As the planners couldn’t be sure when the busy Clinton would be able to come, “We planned for a few different scenarios and just remained flexible,” Castruita Specter said. As it turned out, the former president arrived shortly before 7 p.m., when guests were supposed to move from the cocktail area on Gotham Hall’s balcony to the main room downstairs for dinner. A voice over the loudspeaker summoned attendees to their seats, announcing the arrival of a special guest, and then Clinton spoke on the main stage to kick off the main event, which included additional speeches and a performance by Harry Connick Jr.
