FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Katherine Kroner
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
(301) 565-3004 x109
PH Awareness Rockin’ for the Cure Concert a Huge Success!
Washington, DC – March 22, 2006 – The Pulmonary Hypertension Association and the Embassy of Hungary hosted a PH awareness event as part of PHA’s Faces of PH campaign. The Rockin’ for the Cure rock concert featured PH patient Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick and the band The Coalition of the Willing. The concert, held at the 9:30 Club, one of Washington, DC’s premier rock venues, brought out approximately 800 people, including ambassadors from over 12 countries, and raised gross revenues of $65,000 for pulmonary hypertension.
As Carl Hicks, PHA Advocacy Vice Chair, started off the evening he explained that the event came about from a phone call from the Hungarian Ambassador to the US, András Simonyi, who said, “I have a rock band… and I want to help.” And help he did. His band, The Coalition of the Willing, played 60’s and 70’s rock tunes the night through. Members of the band are an assorted group of prominent government officials:
- Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. András Simonyi on guitar
- Lincoln Bloomfield, president of the international business advisory firm Palmer Coates LLC and former Assistant Secretary of State, on bass
- Daniel Poneman, a principal with the Scowcroft Group and former presidential aide, on guitar
- USWIB Executive Director Dan McDermott on drums
- Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, formerly with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, and now a Pentagon advisor, on guitar
The band was joined by Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, a 22 year-old PH patient, opera singer, and, as of March 22, a rock star! Charity, the granddaughter of Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), is the national spokesperson for the Faces of PH Campaign. The campaign is a national PH awareness-raising program of physicians and patients speaking out around the country. Learn more and get involved.
The event also included a silent auction and remarks by guest host Jack Valenti and Charity Sunshine’s grandfather Congressman Lantos.
The concert gained local and even international press. The morning before the event, Charity Sunshine, PHA President Rino Aldrighetti, and Ambassador András Simonyi talked about PH and the upcoming event on WUSA, the CBS local affiliate (view footage - requires Windows Media Player). WUSA and the local NBC affiliate also filmed at the event, which they aired on the local news. A Hungarian television station interviewed PHA President Rino Aldrighetti allowing him to talk about PH, the PH associations in 9 European countries, and how Hungarians interested in learning more and getting involved could contact PHA Europe.
PHA would like to thank Rockin’ for the Cure’s sponsors Actelion, Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics/Lung RX. We would also like to acknowledge Candace Bryan Abbey, András Bácsi-Nagy, Debbie Castro, Teréz Dehelán Dörömbözi, Kay King, Heather Koczur, Orkideh Malkoc, Tricia McCarter-Joseph, Judit Rigo, Ed Stack, and Donna Westmoreland for their efforts with this event.
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