The Task Force’s 16th annual Miami Recognition Dinner breaks records, raises over $500,000 in gross proceeds

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hosted its 16th annual Miami Recognition Dinner, presented by Wells Fargo, at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Oct. 6. This year’s honorees included national advocate Matt Foreman and local activist Elizabeth F. Schwartz. The event was hosted by actor/director LeVar Burton, best known for hosting the PBS children’s program, Reading Rainbow, and his roles in the TV miniseries Roots and the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

More than 35 sponsors and approximately 800 guests contributed to another record-breaking year for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s annual dinner. While the numbers are still being tallied, the event is expected to have grossed well over $500,000. For the first time ever, the Miami Recognition Dinner offered complimentary on-site childcare for all guests who had children in honor of Schwartz, who has dedicated her life to expanding and protecting LGBT families.

Tim Nardi, co-chair of the 16th annual Miami Recognition Dinner, says, “We have a couple of dozen volunteers who work almost year-round to create a magical night for our community. It is so gratifying to know that all of the hard work is directly benefiting more than a dozen organizations that serve LGBT people. We are just thrilled to know that we have raised more money than ever before to support our community.”

The 2012 Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award was presented to Schwartz, an attorney in her 15th year of law practice who has devoted much of her life to serving the LGBT community. Foreman, the 2012 National Leadership Award recipient, has spent his adult life working for LGBT rights, as a volunteer, as executive director of local, statewide and national LGBT organizations and, most recently, as director of one of the most LGBT-supportive foundations in the nation.

Launched in 1997, the Miami Recognition Dinner has become a vital source of funding for organizations serving the LGBT community. Since assuming responsibility for the dinner and its sister event, Winter Party Festival, in 2004, the Task Force has donated nearly $1.4 million from the proceeds of the two events to the Miami-Dade community. The Task Force donates the majority of the proceeds to The Miami Foundation’s GLBT Community Projects Fund, which re-grants the money to local organizations.

For more information on the 16th annual Miami Recognition Dinner, please visit www.thetaskforce.org/miami or call 305.571.1924. Become a fan of the Miami Recognition Dinner on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/MiamiDinner.