The Anna’s Angels Gala which I attended yesterday was no less eventful than the last four maybe 5 years I have been attending it.  It started out as an assignment from Cary Magazine but grew quickly into a love for the people and the great cause of this event sponsors.  Anna’s Angels founded by Michelle Pfieffer Merrils has grown from a grass roots charity into now reaching it’s arms out to grow even more into other cities.  Anna’s Angels goals is to support research to make the lives of downs syndrom persons easier by focusing on congnitive and speech specifically.  They have come a long way with the care and support of Michelle and Anna’s angels.

This year was the 10th anniversary and there were quite a few exciting announcements and guests.  Steve Daniels from channel 11 long time supporter and now board member was again the master of ceremonies.  This year we were honored to have Lauren Potter who plays on Glee as the guest speaker.  She gave a highly motivating speech on bullying that moved us all.  Next Michelle was brought to tears when Duke announced they were naming one of the conference centers after her and her parents.  They further struck an emotional cord by also announcing a new staff member to the team who is effected with Downs Syndrome.  This being something Michelle very much wanted so the voice of a person who deals with the challenges of downs syndrome everyday can share information on a regular basis and be part of the research and development at Duke for Downs Syndrome.  As if this was not enough, Anna’s Angels reached their goal of raising $1,000,000 for Downs Syndrome.  An amazing achievement for one woman with a vision only 10 years ago.

Congrats to Michelle, Andy, Anna, all the amazing Duke Doctors and team members and all the close friends who worked tirelessly to make this happen.

And for those of you who could not attend put it on your calendar because not only is it a moving experience just to be a part of this organization but they put on one heck of a party and auction!

Just a few images from the evening.  Once all the pictures have been edited I will attach a link to this blog post to the entire image gallery.