Home"The AZ Insider" with Kathy Shayna Shocket › AZ Insider: Auction Items A Sweet Recipe for Hospice Benefit
 
 
 

Kathy Shayna Shocket has the stories on people who make a difference.                     tarbelll final 1000 hospice

Kathy shares the passion behind the bids for Hospice of the Valley.

 An exquisite chef’s dinner for eight at Tarbell’s with wine pairings, was a very sweet recipe for the Aaha auction to benefit Hospice of the Valley (HOV.)  The auction item sold for $4,500, not once, but twice at the gala. 

Celebrity Chef/Owner Mark Tarbell’s  donation of the two items that fetched the $9,000, was heartfelt.  "I've had several loved ones, as well as a dear member of my staff, go through Hospice and have been so grateful for the grace and dignity with which Hospice handles such difficult situations,” says Mark (pictured above at his Wine Store.) 

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Richard Hamada, CEO of Avnet and wife Michele Hamada (pictured above left) were Honorary Chairs of the fundraiser. HOV’s Director of Community Engagement Lin Sue Cooney and Executive Director Susan Levine (pictured above right with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton) welcomed guests to the signature dinner/auction of art and heirlooms. 

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Nora Hannah, CEO of Experience Matters, won the eight day trip to majestic Peru and private-guided tour to Machu Picchu,  with her bid of $6,500. Although she and her husband David Dunteman (pictured above in Ireland) are avid hikers, the bid was from the heart. “My family is so grateful to HOV for the love and compassion they showed my mother during the last months of her life. The nurses and staff became part of our team, and gave us all incredible peace of mind during this life transition," says Nora. 

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Bob Anderson, CEO of Prisma Graphic and wife Robyn Anderson (pictured above on a prior getaway to Egypt) had the winning $6,500 bid for a Paris and Normandy art-themed cruise. Growing up in Phoenix, Bob often accompanied his grandmother Pauline Larson when she nursed ill neighbors who wanted the dignity of being cared for in their own home. Bob points out that was before there was hospice, and he praises HOV and its longtime Executive Director Susan Levine for helping HOV grow to serving 17,300 patients last year in central Arizona.  

 Mark Tarbell agrees. “I have been continually impressed by, and thankful for, what Susan Levine has built in Hospice of the Valley.”   During the Aaha gala, the  “Fund-A-Need,” for music, pet and other patient therapies drew $85,000, bringing the  net total raised to $310,000. 

Let’s toast to Aaha’s success and the entire team of the non-profit HOV. 

kathy shayna shocket

 Kathy Shayna Shocket is a freelance Writer and TV -Field Producer based in Phoenix, AZ. The former TV Reporter has written for publications such as TIME Magazine, Money Magazine, PEOPLE Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and The NEW YORK TIMESYou can reach her at redkarpetgirl.com