The VIPs

Nsoro co-founder Darrell Mays, Nsoro Executive Director Cynthia Moreland, Starfish Ball Queen and King Millie Smith and Pete Sandore, Nsoro alum Mason McFalls and Nsoro “Student of the Year” Desirée Chace

 

The Venue

The St. Regis Atlanta in Buckhead

 

The Scene-Makers

Past Nsoro King Jack Sawyer, Steve Smith, Herman and Sylvia Russell, Howard and Vicki Palefsky, AT&T’s Dennis Boyden, Marjorie and Steve Harvey, Bonnie Leadbetter, Monica Dioda, Todd Tautfest, John and Dina Geisler, Tara Werther, past  Nsoro Queen Su Longman and husband Al Longman, Rhett and Carolyn Tanner, Eileen and Tom Rosencrants, Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot.

 

The Highlights

Guests reveled in a festive setting, decked out in Mardi Gras colors, including masks, bottle trees and crimson plumes by A Legendary Event. St Regis chef Jonathan Jerusalmy cooked up a Creole-inspired menu featuring crawfish and Andouille bisque, duo of short ribs and seared halibut with pickled okra grit cake, and a Commander’s Palace-inspired Bananas Foster for dessert. Post dinner, Nsoro’s Starfish Queen and King, Millie Smith and Peter Sandore, were introduced via a jazz parade and guests danced late into the night to the New Orleans-style tunes of Zyde Funk Band.

 

Corporate Sponsors

Title Sponsor AT&T. Presenting sponsors: Wilmington Trust, The Patricia Bowman Terwilliger Family Foundation Charitable Trust, Al and Su Longman, SBA Communications Corporation, Nsoro MasTec and Darrell Mays, In kind sponsors: St. Regis Atlanta, Market Source Inc. and Neiman Marcus.

 

The Cause

Atlanta-based Nsoro Foundation aims to increase the educational opportunities for foster care children who have aged-out from care by offering academic scholarships and mentoring. The program currently supports over 75 students. On the evening of the gala, Dennis Boyden of Title Sponsor AT&T presented a surprise check to Nsoro Foundation of $65,000.  For more information visit www.thenf.org