Article by Chris Bynoe
Development and Communications Intern
On October 24, People Fund held its annual East Night celebration at its Austin headquarters. The event was a fun-filled success, with a record setting $24,000 raised to benefit underserved small business throughout the Austin area. People Fund clients, partners, volunteers and staff alike came together to gamble for good, testing their luck at the slot machines and exciting rounds of poker and blackjack. In addition, a variety of awards were presented to the movers and shakers at People Fund and within the Austin community. This year out of countless confirmed finalists received recognition from the organization. Under the direction of Honorary Chair Eugene Sepulveda and Title Sponsors Entrepreneurs Foundation and Capital One, the 2013 categories and winners are:
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Daniel Chen
Intern of the Year – Allen Tang
Mentor of the Year, Training and Ed. – Liz Rogers
Finalist: Carlos Comacho
Small Business Success – Hill Country Running Company
Finalist: Compassion Consulting and Distribution, LP
Community Impact – African American Youth Harvest Foundation, Inc.
Finalists: Friendship of Women Inc. Frazier Revitalization Inc.
Strength in Adversity – Hooked up Tacos
Finalists: LKMC, Inc., BIAO, LLC
Business Innovation – Sonance Rehearsal Studios
Finalists: LKMC, Inc., BIAO, LLC, Blooming Pregnancy Spa and Imaging Center, LLC, Pedraza Diversified Investments, Inc.
Non-Profit Advocate – Leap for Success
Corporate Advocate- EBay
Corporate Volunteer – The Advisory Board
Partner of the Year – The Bernstein Companies
Partner of the Year – Stefan Kershow
Champion of the Year – Irv Ashford, Jr.
Austin Champion of the Year– Anna Sanchez
For more pictures from East Night, visit our website.