Alisha Curtis, executive assistant to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and director of special projects for the governor's office, raised more than $33,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. And for her efforts, she took home the Arkansas Chapter's Todd Miles Award.
Curtis raised the most money in a class of nearly 30 of Little Rock's "finest young professionals" honored at Taste of the Finest, a benefit held Aug. 17 in the Statehouse Convention Center's Wally Allen Ballroom and chaired by John Miller. These professionals were lauded for their career success and overall commitment to the community as well as the combined $192,000 they raised for the foundation.
That's one aspect of Taste of the Finest. The title also referred to the restaurants and breweries that set up booths to provide morsels of their best offerings. Guests bid on silent auction items as they sampled the edible treats.
During their remarks, Anne and Mike Preston -- masters of ceremonies and both cystic fibrosis carriers who are expecting their first child -- took a positive attitude toward their child's 25 percent chance of having the disease. "It's been scary for us, but it's also been an uplifting time because we've had a chance to get to know people with the CF Foundation," Anne Preston said.
Added Mike Preston, "No matter what happens with our pregnancy and our child, we feel much more comfortable with knowing the CF Foundation and the work that they're doing and that there is a path to a cure and there's a support organization. And we're just truly blessed to be able to give our time to come up here tonight [and] emcee."
Curtis was presented her award by Executive Director Kelly Bullington and Mary Lou and Leon Miles, parents of Todd Miles, who died of cystic fibrosis in 2004. The night's program continued with a presentation featuring CF Ambassadors Jennifer and Jeremy Rigsby; a Bid for a Cure feature and dancing to the sounds of Mayday by Midnight, whose band members doled out pairs of their signature white sunglasses.
Taste of the Finest resulted in a total of $209,000 for the foundation's programs and services.
High Profile on 09/02/2018