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Los Angeles, CA (October 25,
2014) Peggy Albrecht Friendly House Los Angeles (PAFH), the
first residential program in the country for women
recovering from alcohol and drug abuse, honored writer,
producer and actor, Tom Arnold with the Humanitarian
Award; Olympic gold medalist boxer, Oscar De La Hoya
with the Man
of the Year award;
and Kelly Meyer, co-founder of The American Heart
Association Teaching Gardens with the Woman
of the Year award
at their 25th annual
Awards Luncheon today at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly
Hills. Sydney Holland and Sumner Redstone served as
Honorary Co-Chairs; Peggy Albrecht and Michael
Hollingsworth, Co-Chaired. Celebrity fashion stylist and
television personality Brad Goreski hosted.
Luncheon co-chair and Board
member, Michael Hollingsworth welcomed the over 600 guests
before turning over the stage to Bill Cunningham, President
of the Board of Directors of Peggy Albrecht Friendly
House. After celebrating the work of the organization since
its founding in 1951, Cunningham introduced the afternoon’s
host, television personality and celebrity fashion stylist,
Brad Goreski who welcomed to the stage, the organization’s
Executive Director, Peggy Albrecht.
For more than 30 years,
Albrecht has been the organization’s guiding force. She has
first-hand knowledge of what it is like to rise from the
depths of alcoholism. Her own sobriety began over 43 years
ago. Since then she has devoted her life to the service of
others and has helped thousands of women recover with
dignity and purpose in every facet of their lives. Her
unwavering dedication was recognized in 2013 when Friendly
House was formally renamed Peggy Albrecht Friendly House.
As a surprise, Goreski
introduced a special video message from actor William
Shatner, praising the work of its Executive Director and the
accomplishments of Peggy Albrecht Friendly House. Shatner
is a long-time supporter of the organization. In 2001, he
donated a second residence through The William Shatner
Family Foundation in honor of his late wife Nerine.
Following the video, 25 servers surprised guests with a
grand parade-like entrance where 25 celebratory cakes were
present to mark the events quarter century anniversary.
Producer Ned Haspel presented
the afternoon’s prestigious Humanitarian
Award to
actor, writer, comedian, producer Tom Arnold. Beginning as
a stand-up comedian in Minneapolis, he brought his talents
to Los Angeles, eventually landing a job as a writer and
later executive producer of the hit ABC comedy, Rosanne.
Over the years, Arnold has established himself as an
accomplished actor in films including Nine
Months, True Lies and Hero in
addition to hosting The
Best Damn Sports Show Period for
Fox Sports Network and CMT’s top rated My
Big Redneck franchise.
Kelly Chapman Meyer, environmental activist
and health advocate, was honored with the Woman
of the Year award
by good friend and PAFH Board member, Allison Roeder.
Meyer, a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
and co-founder of the American Heart Association Teaching
Gardens, melds her passions to help push forward policies
and programs for health and wellness for both the individual
and the environment. Meyer co-founded the Teaching Gardens
program as a way to combat the rise of childhood obesity and
lifestyle-related illnesses. As an environmental activist,
she organized the Guinness Book of World Record’s Peace
Paddle Out to
help raise awareness and funds to protect the oceans. In
addition, Meyer co-founded the Women’s Cancer Research Fund
and has raised more than $40 million for ground breaking
Bio-Marker research.
Peggy Albrecht Friendly
House’s Man of
the Year honoree Oscar
De La Hoya, Olympic gold medalist and 10–time world boxing
champion, was
welcomed to the stage by his sister, Ceci. During his
acceptance speech he gave a remarkable gesture to the Peggy
Albrecht Friendly House by announcing he would personally
donate what was still needed to reach their $100,000
fundraising goal. In addition to being one of the greatest
fighters of his era, De La Hoya is a Grammy-nominated
singer, author, astute businessman and active
philanthropist. Since retiring from the ring in 2009, De La
Hoya has focused his attention on building his company,
Golden Boy Promotions, into the most successful boxing
promotion company in the world. De La Hoya is a huge
supporter of public education and partnered with Green Dot
Public Schools to found the Oscar De La Hoya Charter Animo
High School in 2003, the first high school to open in Boyle
Heights in 76 years. For more than a dozen years, De La Hoya
has partnered with White Memorial Medical Center, home to
the Oscar De La Hoya Labor and Delivery Center and Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit. He created the Oscar De La Hoya
Foundation as a tribute to his beloved mother who died of
breast cancer.
Highlighting the afternoon
program was a moving video tribute to the late Gerrie
Patrick, Peggy Albrecht’s closest friend, who had attained
39 years of sobriety, devoting much of her life to the
service of Friendly House.
The introduction of two Grateful
Hearts, “Brianna” and “Crystal” brought the room to a
collective hush with their poignant stories of where their
lives had been before they were welcomed into Peggy Albrecht
Friendly House, what they might have become without its
support and what the future holds. A Grateful
Heart, by definition, is a woman who has found her way
to Friendly House and, because of it, has experienced a
fundamental change in her way of thinking and living.
About
Peggy Albrecht Friendly House
Peggy Albrecht Friendly House was founded in
1951 and was the first home in the country for women
recovering from substance and alcohol abuse and is a model
for recovery homes in the United States and Europe. They
have successfully treated thousands of women with a success
rate of 76% compared to the hospital average of 35%. The
organization is solely supported by private donations and
grants and by the fundraising efforts of the Board of
Directors and Grateful Hearts (former residents of Friendly
House). Peggy Albrecht Friendly House owns two residences.
The Peggy Albrecht Friendly House, a seven-bedroom home
built in the early 1900s, is located in the center of Los
Angeles and houses 16 residents. In 2001, the William
Shatner Family Foundation donated a second house in honor of
his late wife, Nerine. Located in West Los Angeles, it is a
five-bedroom home and accommodates 11 women. Both houses
are overseen by a staff that provides full time supervision
and the skills needed for genuine recovery.
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