Penny Gunning

Husband: Larry A. Gunning, owner of Pasco Petroleum Industry
Heart Ball Chair: 1990
Money raised: Around $500,000
Proudest Moment: “We were able to designate dollars to stay in the state of Arizona, some of which went toward pediatric heart disease.”

Penny Gunning, a former teacher at Phoenix’s Clarendon Elementary School, has always viewed the glass as half full. At 29, her then 56-year-old father passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. Since then, Gunning has taken an active role in raising money and research awareness for the American Heart Association—a stance she is still passionate about today.

As Heart Ball chair of 1990, Gunning recalls very different times, but she remembers being extremely eager to embark on her new role─and avoiding near disaster with her dress. “In 1989, Michael Casey was a very new designer (who was showing his designs at Beatons, a Phoenix-based boutique). [Michael Casey] shipped my dress out of San Francisco right before the 1989 earthquake destroyed his shop,” Gunning says.

Looking back, Gunning says her biggest challenge in leading the event was securing enough seating as well as ensuring her committee knew just how valuable they were in making the event happen. Gunning still pounds the pavement in hopes of raising more money and awareness for research; although she admits her most valued time is spent with her children and grandchildren.