It only took three years for this industry charity's Gotham crowd to break records and surpass its Beantown crowd.

Jeff Masom and Liz Forget Legg Mason and MetLife, respectively

On January 26 the Expect Miracles Foundation ("Financial Services Against Cancer") held its third annual Expect Miracles in Manhattan cocktail party, this time at the Edison Ballroom near New York City's Times Square. More than 500 fundsters turned out for the party (up from more than 300 last year), and the charity's founder, Frank Strauss of Accenture, confirms that the event was the biggest event in the foundation's 22-year history.

"In three years, this New York event has eclipsed the equivalent Boston event," Strauss, a Bostonian, reluctantly told attendees.

Ben Huneke, Frank Heavey, and Frank Strauss Morgan Stanley, Expect Miracles Foundation and Accenture, respectively

"It was fantastic to see so many industry leaders and companies coming together to support the Foundation's life-saving mission," Frank Heavey, executive director of the foundation, tells MFWire. "The event was a testament to the generosity of this dedicated group of people who share the common goal of curing cancer."

This year's Expect Miracles in Manhattan event was themed around "Art of a Cure" and followed an Expect Miracles board meeting held at Rothschild Asset Management's New York City offices. More than 60 firms sponsored the reception. The event was co-chaired by two foundation board members: Ben Huneke, managing director and head of investment solutions at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management; and John Pavese, managing director and head of relationship management at Merrill Lynch.

Dr. Daniel Heller, laboratory head in the molecular pharmacology program and the Center for Experimental Therapeutics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, spoke briefly at the event about a "revolutionary new way of dealing with metastatic cancer." The center is the beneficiary of the event.

The event featured both a silent auction and a live one. Big live auction items included: two trips to the 2017 Masters golf tournament (sold for $6,500 each); a Yucatan peninsula spa getaway ($3,500); golf and lunch for three at Fairmount with Pavese (sold twice, for $3,000 each); golf and lunch for three at Baltrusol with Huneke ($3,000); a golf trip to Mazatlan, Mexico ($2,000); a Valentine's package including dinner for four at Gramercy Tavern, a diamond necklace, and a stay at the Andaz ($2,700); a fully custom suit and shirt from LABEL ($1,600); and a dual trip to Caesar's in Vegas and Atlantic City ($1,000).

The foundation's goal is to raise $2 million this year. They have three more events planned for 2017: on June 8, the 23rd annual East Coast Classic Charity Golf Tournament, at Pinehills Golf Course in Plymouth, Massachusetts; on October 12, the ninth annual West Coast Classic Charity Golf Tournament, at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California; and on November 9, the 14th annual Expect Miracles Wine & Spirits Charity Event at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts. 

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