'Love is Love' Event Organizer Sends a Big Thank You
Mel Trudeau, director of health, hospitality and events, shared this glowing email she received from Adam Erdmann, director of philanthropy at UnityPoint Health - Meriter Foundation, following the “Love is Love” event in Overture Lobby on Friday, Feb. 3:
“It feels a bit overdue, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all of your work to make Love is Love a success. Not only have we raised more than $328,000 to support LGBTQ+ youth mental health, but we did it in a way that our guests are chomping at the bit for the next iteration of this event. That couldn’t have been possible without all of you, your teams and the stellar experience you helped create for our donors and friends. I’m truly grateful for each of your contributions. No matter what we needed or when we needed, the Overture and Catering a Fresco teams were all there to wrap up the details – big or small.
One of my favorite moments for the day was during the afternoon when Pleasant and Jerry [Rowland] happened to be passing through the building. Both of their Foundations helped support Love is Love, but they weren’t planning to attend and didn’t realize the event was that day. They were so excited about our 600 guests and Pleasant said, “I’ve never seen the lobby so colorful. This is what we hoped this building would be for the community.” They sat at one of our tables with their assistants and ate their lunches. It happened to align with the rehearsal for our singer, Marc Lopez. They got to sit and listen to him for a bit. While he sang Can You Feel the Love Tonight from Lion King, Pleasant and Jerry sat and held hands. It was a beautiful moment.
We’ve been saying that Love is Love is probably an every-other-year kind of event. We definitely hope to return to Overture the next time it comes around again. Thank you again for everything!”
