Updated: Seventh Annual 'A Midwinter Night’s Dream' A Success

The chapter of the National Honor Society hosted " their seventh annual fundraiser in support of ALS research, at Oheka Castle Thursday night.

While the students’ night of fundraising was unquestionably full of glitz and glamour, the prevailing mood was one of hope as organizers of the event and attendees joined forces to wage war against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a degenerative disease that often strikes those in the prime of their lives.

According to AMND Executive Director Don Strasser, a chemistry teacher at Northport High School, planning for the student-run event began in April. Tickets to the grand banquet gala which featured live and silent auctions and a plethora of celebrity guests — including Billy Baldwin, Sarah Hughes, Caroline Rhea, Richard Kind, Adam Graves, Zuzanna Szadowski, Curtis Martin and Vincent Piazza — sold out more than two and half weeks in advance.

After hobnobbing with celebrities in attendance, guests entered Oheka's Terrace Room for dinner and presentations.

The theme for this year’s A Midwinter Night’s Dream was “Redefine the Impossible.” This message was brought home by an extremely moving video presentation masterly created by alumnus Chris Lynch, who has been with AMND since its inception in 2005 and teaches kindergarten in the district.

The presentation set the tone for the evening by juxtaposing AMND’s awe-inspiring accomplishments with historic moments once deemed impossible that have since come to pass, such as putting a man on the moon, Martin Luther King’s dream of racial equality, the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the election of the first African-American president.

students became proactive in waging war against ALS when two district teachers, Christopher Pendergast and David Deutsch, were diagnosed with the degenerative disease. Both were present at the event.

All eyes were on Pendergast when the former gifted and talented teacher addressed the audience through his wife, Christine.

Despite the fact that the beloved teacher, who has been fighting ALS for 17 years, is confined to a wheelchair, his unique personality and humor shone through. His speech was the catalyst for thunderous applause.

“He said that he can’t resist a captive audience,” Christine said of her husband, adding Chris’ quip, “It must be the teacher in me.”

When he was first diagnosed with ALS, Chris said that he was “filled with fear and frustration” because ALS was so poorly known and inadequately funded.

It was these same emotions that drove him to work so hard, yet when he was called a hero, Chris said that it chafed him “because I was only doing what was necessary.”

“When I was young, a hero was something or someone larger than life,” Chris explained, adding that he considers himself “an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.”

Chris, who received a Hero for Hope Award from the student organizers, said that he now feels comfortable with the title of hero “because it is hope that keeps me going.”

Curtis Martin, formerly of the New York Jets, was also honored with a Hero for Hope Award. Martin has made a name for himself both as  an athlete extraordinaire and as a benefactor of those who are less fortunate via the Curtis Martin Job Foundation.

Martin had the guests on the edge of their seats as he opened up his heart about his early years which were rife with adversity, darkness and brushes with death. Despite all this, he remained optimistic and forged ahead.

“There is always hope, and when you stop hoping, you die,” Martin said.

He said that football was the vehicle with which he was blessed, and he knew that he could use it as a vehicle to impact people’s lives in a positive way.

“I am honored to be a part of it,” Martin said of the gala evening, adding that he learned the importance of living life with hope and appreciating every  day from his father, as he lay dying.

The AMND’s presenting sponsors were Fritz Garrecht, of East Shore Partners, and David Tice.

Garrecht, whose daughter, Jessica, is on this year’s committee, said that the evening was all about “youthful enthusiasm, hope for the future and finding a cure for the impossible.”

Sarah Pattison, an alumnus who has been involved with AMND for six years, said that she was gratified to see nine months’ work on the part of the students come to glorious fruition.

Pattison summed it up best by saying that “the love in the room was palpable.”

“We are all there for the same reason,” Pattison said, adding that she was so happy to see Deutsch, Pendergast and the other patients whose plight is the driving force behind AMND.

As a remembrance of the magical night guests received a remarkable favor: a book written by AMND’s “most valuable player,” Kate Macina.

“It is a masterpiece,” Pattison said of the almost 200-page volume which details AMND’s journey with interviews with students, parents and patients.

Principal  Irene McLaughlin said that she was moved to tears many times during the course of the evening. She  applauded  both the students and Strasser, whom she said has built "an empire of kids who are caring."

"It gets bigger and better every year," McLaughlin said of the event, which resonates with the students' "boundless energy, imagination, passion and devotion" and their love for Pendergast and Deutsch.

Strasser said he couldn't have been more pleased with how the evening unfolded.

"I am so proud of these students.  They've worked hard for 8 months to create an inspiring evening for everyone, and they accomplished it with perfection.  It was an honor to work with them.  They exemplify what Northport is all about: a caring and loving community that supports everyone within.  I want to thank all businesses, restaurants, families, and supporters who made this event possible."

Over the years AMND has raised about $1.5 million for the cause, and this year the committee hopes to reach the $2 million mark. The total raised during Thursday night’s gala will be announced on Monday afternoon.