Cipriani 42nd Street in New York played host to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Heroes Gala. IAVA has made it its mission to improve the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families. NBC’s “Today” Show” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Willie Geist emceed the ceremony and featured a special performance by Kandace Springs.The IAVA recognizes individuals who have shown an immense dedication to the veterans community. For the 10th Anniversary, the organization honored CEO and Co-Founder of Uber Inc., Travis Kalanick, with the 2014 IAVA Civilian Leadership Award, and Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, with the 2014 IAVA Veteran Leadership Award.
Friends of IAVA and the veteran community, including former Heroes Gala host and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, Comedian Stephen Colbert, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Comedian Darrell Hammond, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, and CNN anchor Jake Tapper recoded special video messages which were played to guests on the big screen throughout the evening. The ceremony was also livestreamed online and watched by veteran supporters worldwide.
After mingling at the cocktail hour, veterans and guests made their way to the ballroom for the ceremony to begin. IAVA Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Rieckhoff took the stage to welcome guests and thank veteran and civilian supporters. “IAVA has touched more veterans than anyone,” he said. “We are showing the world that vets are rising”. Those sentiments were later echoed by veterans, which you can see in the video above. Perhaps my favorite moment of the evening.
Army veteran and Dancing with the Stars winner, J.R. Martinez applauded IAVA founder Paul Rieckhoff, who created the organization out of his East Village studio apartment a decade ago, for his vision and unremitting passion. See the full speech above.
Auctioneer, Brittney Ingarra led the live auction and garnered a slew of bidders for amazing items, like a Victory Green Gunner Motorcycle and a $5,000 Victory Accessories package, which was sold for $45,000.
The night was truly inspiration and a great way to celebrate our current and fallen heroes. The nonprofit organization nearly 300,000 Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, IAVA recently received the highest rating – four-stars – from Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator. For more information visit www.iava.org/ and to watch the Heroes Gala head over to their youtube page.