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Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Greater Los Angeles
Rising
Stars Gala
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 27, 2012) - Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBSLA) honored outstanding
members of the Los Angeles community at its annual Rising
Stars Gala on October 26, 2012, at The Beverly Hilton
Hotel. Awards recognized individuals who are inspiring and
positive role models for young people. Sumner M. Redstone,
Executive Chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation, was
honored with the Walt Disney Man of the Year Award; Dana
Walden, Chairman of Twentieth Century Fox Television, was
recipient of the Sherry Lansing Award; Roshon Fegan, actor,
musical artist and producer, received the Rising Star Award;
and long-time BBBSLA Guild member Kim Vamos was honored with
the Trailblazer Award. More
than $700,000 was raised to benefit the organization and
support its life-changing programs.
The evening featured special performances by Emmy and Golden
Globe nominated singer/actor Lea Michele, Amber Riley and
Darren Criss, best known for their roles on the
award-winning television show GLEE. Singer/songwriter
Jensen McRae also performed. The gala was hosted by KTLA’s
Allie MacKay. Honorary Gala Chairs included Philippe Dauman,
Sherry Lansing, Leslie Moonves and Gary Newman. Sarah
Purcell and Sandy Bilson Co-Chaired. A highlight of the
evening included poignant personal stories from “Bigs” and
“Littles” on how BBBSLA had changed and impacted their
lives.
“Our young people are so fortunate to have such
extraordinary and dedicated role models,” said Tiffany Siart,
President and Chief Executive Officer of BBBSLA. “We are
extremely grateful for their generosity and support of our
mission to improve the lives of our city’s at-risk youth and
become a potent force for a positive transformation of Los
Angeles’ most challenging neighborhoods and schools.”
Sherry Lansing presented Sumner M. Redstone, Executive
Chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation, with the Walt
Disney Man of the Year Award. Mr. Redstone has been
Chairman of the Board of National Amusements since 1986, and
Chief Executive Officer of National Amusements since July
1967. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Academy
of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation and is on the
Board of Trustees for The Paley Center for Media. He also
served as Chairman of the Board of the National Association
of Theatre Owners, and is currently a member of its
Executive Committee. Before that, he was President of the
Theatre Owners of America. Mr. Redstone was recently honored
with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Mr. Redstone has devoted himself to a wide variety of civic
and community affairs efforts, contributing over $150
million to worthy charities around the world over the last
several years. He has donated
$1.5 million to the Global Poverty Project towards
eradicating polio and funded the establishment of the
Cambodian Children’s Fund child rescue center along with
research and patient care advancements in cancer, burn
recovery and mental health at several major non-profit
healthcare organizations. Many of his major gifts have been
focused on encouraging the acceleration of basic research
into clinical trials and, ultimately, to individuals and
their families. Mr. Redstone has supported such
internationally recognized programs as A Place Called Home,
Autism Speaks, FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating
Medical Solutions, based in Washington D.C.; the prostate
cancer research of Dr. David Agus at the University of
Southern California's Keck School of Medicine; the
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts; the
Cedars-Sinai Women’s Heart Center; Boston Latin School,
Boston University School of Law, Harvard University and
Harvard Law School.
Jennifer Salke, President of NBC Entertainment, presented
the Sherry Lansing Award to her good friend Dana
Walden who serves as Chairman of Twentieth Century Fox
Television, the prolific supplier of blockbuster television
programming and home to many of the most acclaimed writers,
producers and performers working in television. Walden,
partnered in this position with Gary Newman since 1999, has
delivered some of television’s biggest and brightest hits,
including most recently, the Golden Globe-winning and
chart-topping GLEE, the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning MODERN
FAMILY, the Golden Globe-winning HOMELAND, the freshman FOX
hit NEW GIRL and FX’s sensation AMERICAN HORROR STORY. She
oversees both Fox21 which produces SONS OF ANARCHY, and FTVS,
the company behind BURN NOTICE, WHITE COLLAR and THE
KILLING. Her studio’s domination of primetime animation
remains unrivaled, with THE SIMPSONS recently celebrating
its astounding 500th episode and FAMILY GUY
poised to hit 200 episodes this November. Walden sits on
the Board of Directors for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo, the
Chrysalis organization, UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and the
Saban Free Clinic.
Roy Fegan presented the Rising Star Award to his son
Roshon Fegan who recently starred on the 14th
season of DANCING WITH THE STARS and is widely recognized
for his roles on the Disney Channel. A musical artist,
songwriter, producer and actor, Fegan currently stars on the
Disney Channel original series SHAKE IT UP! as Ty Blue.
Prior to this role, he gained popular notoriety as Sander
Loyer in the Disney Channel original movie CAMP ROCK and the
sequel CAMP ROCK 2: THE FINAL JAM. He also performed on the
CAMP ROCK soundtrack. Musically known as Ro•Shon, he
released his first self-produced EP “I Am Ro•Shon.”
Recently Ro•Shon has been releasing new music every week
with a music video to follow produced by his company 3inaRo
Entertainment and directed by him. Roshon Fegan writes and
produces all of his own music under his independently owned
record label, 3inaRo Entertainment, where he serves as CEO.
The label name “3inaRo” (pronounced “three-in-a-row”) is a
reference to Ro•Shon being a triple threat entertainer in
his three passions: acting, dancing and music.
BBBSLA Guild member Pam Dawber presented the Trailblazer
Award to KimVamos who has been a member of the Guild of
BBBSLA since 2001 and served as Guild President for two
consecutive terms. In her capacity as Guild President, she
was a member of the Board of Directors and also served on
the Executive Committee. She has served as a Rising Stars
Gala event chair and production co-chair for many years.
Previously Vamos served as Parents Association President at
Curtis School and served as President of the Upper Division
at Brentwood School. She currently works with her husband
Richard managing the office at New View Development, Inc.
Since 1955, Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBSLA) has
been the leader in providing children facing adversity,
often those of single or low-income households or families
where a parent is incarcerated, with strong and enduring,
professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships
with carefully screened adult volunteer mentors that change
their lives for the better, forever. The results are clear
-- children in our programs improve in school, avoid risky
and delinquent behaviors, and achieve higher self-esteem and
aspirations. Philanthropedia, a GuideStar company, recently
named Big Brothers Big Sisters as the #1 high impact
national nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth.
BBBSLA is committed to serving more children, changing more
lives by partnering with parents/guardians, volunteers and
others in the community. Learn how you can positively
impact a child’s life by visiting
www.BBBSLA.org
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