A Great Gala Night

The seventh annual WFUV Gala – our big fundraising night – was held Thursdsay, May 8, 2014 at Gotham Hall on 36th Street in New York City. It was a night to dress up, and a night to get down.

Amy Helm kicked off the evening with her band, which felt right in so many ways. We enjoyed some well-thought out (and quite funny) words from our Fordham colleagues, and then the awards began to rain: longtime friend of FUV Peter Madonia thanked Katherine Oliver for her community service; Charles Osgood presented his namesake award for excellence in broadcast news to NPR's Scott Simon; Bill Raftery made the sports fans appreciate Verne Lundquist even more; and then Rita Houston brought out author (and radio host) Greg Kot to wax poetic about the fabulous Mavis Staples.

Then Mavis hit the stage, and all bets were off. Her voice, her soul and her love just shine from her everywhere she goes, which is why we're celebrating her as Artist of the Year to begin with.

It's too much to describe all at once, and our heads are still spinning. There are photos below. All we can say now is thank you – to the Advisory Board members who put their love and strength behind us, to the University that houses and supports us, and to the wonderful people in the room who came down to spend a special evening in the company of one lucky radio station.