Home"The AZ Insider" with Kathy Shayna Shocket › AZ Insider: Record Breaking Lunch at Phoenix Art Museum
 
 
 

Kathy Shayna Shocket has the stories on the people who make a difference. 

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 Fifty seven spectacular table settings created by over 60 notable designers, amidst the inspiring venue of the Phoenix Art Museum. Celebrity speaker, HGTV designer, Sarah Richardson.  And a guest list of 600 mostly women - including some of the most influential philanthropists in the country.

 It was all part of the “picture” painted for the Independent Woman Luncheon. In fact, the sold out fundraiser with a wait list was a record breaking picture. Amy Cohn (pictured above with Sarah Richardson) co-chaired the event with designer Matthew Boland (pictured below.) Along with a record amount raised, even the yards of fabric donated - 600 yards- was a record.

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The picturesque afternoon was underwritten by My Sister’s Closet and David E. Adler Fine Rugs. Seven years ago, Ellen Katz had a vision to create the IWL and has helped nurture it into a premiere benefit. (Ellen is pictured above with one of the afternoon’s sponsors’ Erin Gogolak.)

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 Doris Ong, Lifestyle Guide Chair, Kathryn Petsas Design Chair are pictured above, left.  Ellen Bertrand, Janis Lyon, Amy Cohn, Diane Halle, Ellen Katz, Sharon Lewis, and Sue Selig  (pictured below right) were Honorary Chairs. (Diane Halle is pictured below with Dr. Sybil Francis.)

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For the past several years Elliott Halem of Halem & Associates  (who is pictured below) has donated ALL the fabric for the tablecloths. Ardy Andjelich's fabricators at Ardy's Gallery for Designers cut and sewed the tablecloths for months. (Elliott is pictured below left and Phoenix Police Officer Land with his daughter are below, right.)

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 As Amy Cohn pointed out, “As I try to wrap my head around what 600 yards of fabric looks like I had an "a-ha" moment on the eve of Super Bowl. If you unroll a bolt of 600 yards of fabric from one end of the yard line to the other then you would be able to go forward and back six times to lay all that fabric."

The importance of youth being exposed to the museum was reflected by Phoenix Police Officer Land. While on a random security check at the museum, he ran into Amy and some committee members working after hours.“On Discount Tire Free Family weekends I bring my family to PAM and my daughter is so inspired.

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PIctured above left are Lee CohnAmada CruzKirsten Peterson JohansenDavid Adler and Lisa Adler and Ann Siner. Below are the designers who made the event a harmonious one. 

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Funds raised benefit PAM’s educational programs. What an INSPIRING afternoon! 

    kathy shayna shocket copy    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 TIMES. You can reach her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it