New York Police and Fire
Widows’ and Children’s
Benefit Fund
Chairman Daniel J. “Rusty”
Staub, and
Stephen J. Dannhauser,
Chairman of
Weil, Gotshal
& Manges
LLP and
President and CEO of the
Fund,
honored
Charles A.
Davis,
CEO of global private
equity firm Stone Point
Capital LLC, and Mark
Messier, six-time
Stanley Cup Champion and
NHL Hall of Fame member,
at the organization’s
23rd Annual Benefit Gala
held on
Tuesday, September 23rd
at the New York
Hilton Grand Ballroom.
Philip V. Moyles, Jr.,
Senior Advisor at Stone
Point Capital LLC
Chaired for the
black-tie optional
event.
This year’s gala
featured a live auction
with NY 1 News Society
Reporter George Whipple
as auctioneer. Among the
items bid on were an
Ireland Castle vacation
package, a private
island Bahamas Vacation
(including fishing trip
and dinner with Mark
Messier), and four seats
to the last game at Shea
Stadium, which will
honor 45 former Mets
players and managers and
mark the closing of the
Stadium.
The evening also paid
tribute to the legacy of
Benefit Fund co-founder
J. Patrick "Paddy"
Burns, who passed away
earlier this year. The
first J. Patrick "Paddy"
Burns award recipient
was Harrison Ford, in
recognition of his
contribution and
participation in the
organization’s premier
Public Service
Announcement "The Call,"
which received a Telly
Award this year.
“The board and families
of the Benefit Fund are
deeply grateful for the
active support that
Charles and Mark have
shown. Thanks to their
involvement, we have
already exceeded prior
years’ fundraising
efforts, even despite
the tough economy," said
Rusty Staub.
“It's been a privilege
working with Charles and
Mark, both respectable
leaders in their careers
and communities. Their
stalwart dedication is
inspiring, and sets an
important example of
giving back and honoring
our most respected
heroes,” said Stephen
Dannhauser.
Charles Davis joined
Greenwich-based Stone
Point Capital, a global
private equity firm, in
1998 and has served as
Chief Executive Officer
for eight years.
Previously, he was with
Goldman, Sachs & Co. for
23 years, where he
served as head of
Investment Banking
Services worldwide,
co-head of the Americas
Group, head of the
Financial Services
Industry Group, member
of the International
Executive Committee and
General Partner. Davis serves as a director of AXIS Capital
Holdings Limited,
Lockton International
Holdings Limited and
Wilton Re Holdings
Limited, and a former
director of several
portfolio companies
including Sedgwick CMS
Holdings, Inc. and
Vertafore, Inc. (f/k/a
AMS Services, Inc.). He
is also a director of
Media General, Inc.,
Merchants Bancshares,
Inc., Progressive
Corporation and The
Hershey Company. Davis’ charitable contributions include active
involvement with the
Charles & Marna Davis
Foundation and Stone
Point Capital
Foundation.
Mark Messier,
widely
considered among the
greatest hockey players
and greatest sports
leaders of all time,
spent more than
a quarter of a century
in the NHL (1979-2004)
with the
Edmonton Oilers,
New York Rangers,
and
Vancouver Canucks.
He
won five Stanley Cups
with the Oilers and one
with the Rangers, and is
the only professional
athlete to captain two
different teams to
championships. In 2007,
he was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame.
Since his retirement in
January 2006, Messier
has been actively
involved with several
charitable causes,
including the Tomorrow's
Children Fund, which
named Messier the 1996
"Humanitarian of the
Year," and Hackensack University Medical Center, which unveiled the “Mark Messier
Skyway for Tomorrow's
Children” in 2006.
Since
its inception in 1985 by
Rusty Staub,
the
New York Police
and Fire Widows’ and
Children’s Benefit Fund
www.answerthecall.org
has
distributed
approximately $114
million to the families
of New York City Police
and Fire personnel who
have been killed in the
line of duty. Starting
in 1987, the Benefit
Fund provided 320
families with annual
financial assistance;
now, the commitment has
grown to nearly 700
families. Immediately
after the death of a
First Responder, the
Benefit Fund delivers
the family a check to
help them through the
uncertain times such a
tragedy can bring. After
the initial crisis, the
Benefit Fund provides
each family with
financial support and a
network of friends ready
to lend a hand. Though
the Benefit Fund was
initially created to
assist families of New
York City Fire Fighters
and Police Officers, it
now includes the
families of Emergency
Medical Services and
Port Authority
Police as well.