About $1.6 million raised for Eppley Cancer Center

Legendary newsman Tom Brokaw addresses the crowd Friday night at the Ambassador of Hope Gala in Omaha. The event raised about $1.6 million for research at UNMC’s Eppley Cancer Center.

Preliminary numbers are in and, predictably, Friday’s Ambassador of Hope Gala proved to be a resounding success.

Early counts show about $1.6 million was raised during the event. The money benefits research at UNMC’s Eppley Cancer Center.

“This year’s Ambassador of Hope Gala was a fantastic event,” said Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “The support from the community and from around the state was outstanding and very much appreciated. The money raised will help the Eppley Cancer Center continue its growth toward an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center designation.”

Although a final tally has yet to be completed, Dr. Cowan said there was more money raised this year than at any previous AOH gala. The preliminary total includes a $500,000 matching grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation.

About 1,200 people attended the gala at Omaha’s Qwest Center and satellite celebrations in Norfolk and Sidney each hosted about 125 people, said Jean Bell, general chairwoman of the Ambassador of Hope Gala.

Preliminary tallies show that about $40,000 was raised in Norfolk and $15,000 was raised in Sidney, Bell said.

A third satellite celebration in Lexington was halted because of technical difficulties, said Ed Burchfield, director of video for the AOH Gala.

“A third co-Gala celebration in Lexington was cut short due to some technical difficulties that could not be immediately corrected,” Burchfield said.

The satellite broadcasts marked the first year the gala included celebrations outside of Omaha.

Highlights of the event included the family of the late Harlan Noddle accepting the Marge and Chuck Durham Spirit of Nebraska Award on Noddle’s behalf and a speech by legendary newsman, Tom Brokaw, who also was given the Ambassador of Hope Award for his efforts to fight cancer.

(From left to right) UNMC Chancellor Harold Maurer, M.D., and his wife, Beverly, pose for a picture at the Ambassador of Hope Gala in Omaha on Friday night with Nancy Noddle and her son, Jay Noddle. Nancy’s husband, the late Harlan Noddle, was honored at the gala with the Chuck and Marge Durham Spirit of Nebraska Award.

While accepting the award for Noddle, his children, Jay Noddle and Susie Noddle Levine, told the story of the treatment their father received at the medical center during his bout with pancreatic cancer. Harlan Noddle died last December at age 69.

“(Dad) believed in the work being done (at the medical center),” Jay Noddle said.

Brokaw, wearing red UNMC Eppley Cancer Center and yellow Livestrong bracelets, asked the crowd to remember daily the men and women serving overseas and to honor the sacrifices of those in uniform by being actively involved in the debate on national security.

Brokaw, who wrote the “The Greatest Generation” and “The Greatest Generation Speaks,” spoke of the perils and promises of the 21st century. As a television journalist and NBC anchorman, he remembers best, not the marquee names of people he’s interviewed, he said, but the “brave young people” who risked their lives in the civil rights fight, World War II and subsequent wars.

“They gave up comfort…to answer their conscience,” Brokaw said.

He said he hopes his granddaughter one day comes to Omaha to accept the Ambassador of Hope Award and tells the crowd that this generation, too, was “the greatest.”

The event and the money raised was another example of Nebraska’s dedication to fighting cancer, said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

“The event was an overwhelming success,” Dr. Maurer said. “Once again Nebraskans showed tremendous support for research at the Eppley Cancer Center.”