IAVA’s Second Annual Heroes Gala was held on November 12, 2008. IAVA honored Arnold Fisher, Senior Partner at Fisher Brothers and Honorary Chairman of the Fallen Heroes Fund, for his commitment to improving the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families. IAVA was also proud to honor Iraq War Veterans and U.S. Paralympic athletes Scott Winkler and Carlos Leon for their courage, strength, and dedication. Thank you to Henry Rollins, who served as Master of Cermonies for the evening, and to General Peter W. Chiarelli and Milo Ventimiglia, who presented the awards to our Honorees.

IAVA would like to thank the Gala’s generous sponsors , and our distinguished honorary and host committees. Click here to see gallery and videos from the evening. Thank you for supporting this incredible event and for helping IAVA to improve the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.

Event Sponsors
Senator Max Cleland
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mr. Matt Damon
Senator Bob Dole
Lieutenant General (USA, Ret.) Robert G. Gard, Jr.
Senator Bob Kerrey
Mr. Norman Lear
The Honorable James McDonough, Iraq War Veteran & Director of the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs
Congressman Patrick Murphy, Iraq War Veteran
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV
The Honorable Donna E. Shalala
Harry Smith, CBS News Anchor
Senator Jim Webb
Mr. James Wright, President of Dartmouth College
Brigadier General (USA, Ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis, MD
More
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Event Sponsors
Mrs. Elizabeth Addonizio
Mr. Dan Adler
Mr. Mike Atkinson
Mr. Bill Bonde
Mr. Ken Burns
Mr. Phil Carter
Mr. Eli Elefant
Mr. Nate Fick
Dr. Gail Furman
Mr. Les Gelb
Mr. Sid Goodfriend
Mr. Mark Grossklag
Ms. Miriam Hess
Mrs. & Mr. Jill & Ken Iscol
Mr. Perry Jefferies
Dr. Peter Klatsky
Mr. Gabe Kleinman
Mr. George Loening
Ms. Rachel Maddow
Mr. Wes Moore
Major General William L. Nash (USA, Ret.) & Elizabeth H. Becker
Mr. Craig Newmark
Mr. George Packer
Mr. Warfield Price
Mrs. & Mr. Indre & Justin Rockefeller
Mrs. & Mr. Jennifer & Jonathan Allan Soros
Mr. Adrian Talbott
Mr. Garry Trudeau
Mr. Edward Vick & Ms. Stephanie Kugelman
Ms. Lynne Wasserman
Mr. Bill White
Ms. Lizz Winstead
Mr. Bennett Zier
Event Sponsors
The Wasserman Foundation
Jennifer & Jonathan Allan Soros
George Loening & Select Equity Group, Inc.
Access Industries
Disabled American Veterans
Health Net Federal Services
Edward Vick & Stephanie Kugelman
Creative Artists Agency
Factory Card & Party Outlet
HBO
Military.com
Craig Newmark
Post Heymann & Koffler LLP
PowerSPACE & Services
The Tycher Family Foundation
NFL

Photo Gallery

Videos

Master of Ceremonies Henry Rollins opens the Heroes Gala

 

Cameron Diaz welcomes the guests

 

Paul Rieckhoff gives opening remarks (Part 1 of 2)

 

Paul Rieckhoff gives opening remarks (Part 2 of 2)

 

General Peter W. Chiarelli gives remarks and introduces Arnold Fisher

 

Arnold Fisher, recipient of the IAVA 2008 Civilian Service Award

 

Arnold Fisher accepts the IAVA 2008 Civilian Service Award (Part 1 of 2)

Arnold Fisher accepts the IAVA 2008 Civilian Service Award (Part 2 of 2)

 

Milo Ventimiglia gives remarks and introduces Scott Winkler and Carlos Leon

 

Carlos Leon and Scott Winkler, recipients of the IAVA 2008 Veterans Leadership Award

 

Carlos Leon and Scott Winkler accept the IAVA 2008 Veterans Leadership Award

 

6:00 PM
Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction

7:30 PM
Award Presentations

Arnold Fisher
Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers

Scott Winkler and Carlos Leon
Iraq War Veterans and 2008 Paralympic Athletes

Henry Rollins
Actor, Author & Performer

Cameron Diaz
Actor

Click here to learn how to sponsor this event.

If you are a member of the media and want to cover this event, click here.

Founded in June 2004, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is a nonprofit, non-partisan veterans’ education and advocacy organization. The first and largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ group in America, IAVA has tens of thousands of active member veterans and more than 100,000 grassroots supporters nationwide. Through education, community and advocacy, IAVA strives to create a country which honors and cares for its newest generation of veterans and their families. Please visit www.iava.org for more information.

For questions or comments about the Second Annual Heroes Gala, please call (212) 982-9699 or email gala@iava.org