NEW YORK-FEBRUARY 27: New York Junior League 58th Annual Winter Ball, A Winter Palace 2010 on Saturday February 27, 2010 at The Grand Ballroom | The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York City. The New York Junior League celebrated 109 years of community service and honored seven members during its 58th annual Winter Ball, “A Winter Palace.” Guests gathered to celebrate the substantial body of volunteer work done by OUTSTANDING SUSTAINERS: Helen Bearn Pennoyer and Pamela Bimson Reade and OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERS: Christine Drinan, Fiona Grant, Amy Phelan, Jill Ferrari Rosen and Saundra Smith, while enjoying dinner and dancing at the iconic Plaza Hotel. André Leon Talley, the legendary editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, presided over the evening as the Master of Ceremonies. Mr. Talley, who regularly works with the most celebrated names in the fashion, art and entertainment worlds, kept the room entranced with his witty repartee. In addition to his position at Vogue, Talley is also a member of the board of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, where a lifetime-achievement award has been named for him. He is also the 2003 recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Eugenia Sheppard Award for Excellence in Fashion Journalism. Mr. Talley is also an active member of The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where he is closely involved with fundraising on behalf of the church and its programs, as well as on behalf of the Harlem Community as a whole. Winter Ball Co-Chairs: Julia Boland Bleetstein, Brooke McDonald Moorhead, Anne-Marie Peterson McMahon. Exciting live auction items included a shoe-shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue, a three-night stay at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, and a deluxe Yankees package which included Legends Suite seating and in-seat dining. All proceeds from ticket sales will support the New York Junior League’s community outreach initiatives, including the Playground Improvement Project, which since 1992 has revamped and rehabilitated neglected playgrounds and parks throughout New York City. St. Nicholas Park in Harlem has been selected as the 2010 PIP project, and during five weekends in April and May, an estimated 10,000 volunteer hours by NYJL and community volunteers will be spent renovating the park’s playgrounds, athletic courts and gardens
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