Cantor Fitzgerald Charity Day

Posted on August 31, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

I am working on an assignment that I wanted to share with you. Perhaps you can help.

I’m looking for celebrities to participate in this year’s Cantor Fitzgerald Charity Day which, of course, takes place on Monday, September 11th, 2017 at the company’s New York office.

Can you believe it’s been 16 years since that tragic day?

Charity Day is significant at Cantor Fitzgerald as we all remember 658 friends and colleagues who lost their lives on 9/11. They are raising money for a number of different charities and I am helping them. I am assisting with the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. I am a board member.

This is a clip from last year’s event. Click here.

They raised approximately $12 million globally in a single day last year across Cantor, BGC & GFI, all of which was donated to charity. Since inception, Charity Day has raised approximately $137 million.

This is an outstanding achievement, and we look forward to once again raising large amounts for charitable causes.

We are thrilled that this year’s participating charities are bringing some great celebrity ambassadors to visit Cantor Fitzgerald’s trading floors.

Here are just some of the initial celebrities confirmed to participate in this year’s Charity Day:

Anna Sophia Robb

Jenny McCarthy

Padma Lakshmi

Bill Clinton

Jim Leyritz
Pamela Anderson

Brandy

Joe Namath

Ray Mancini

Brian Dennehy

John Franco

Steve Buscemi

Constance Jablonski

Larry Holmes

Steve Schirripa

Darryl Strawberry

Louis CK

Tamara Tunie

Dikembe Mutombo

Martin St. Louis

Tony Danza

Gayle King

Michael J. Fox

Rosie Perez

Henrik Lundqvist

Mike Breen

Walt Frazier

To learn more about Charity Day and the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, please visit http://www.cantorrelief.org, or watch the 2016 Cantor Fitzgerald Charity Day video.

Now I have to get to work to help make this another successful Charity Day.

If you know anyone, or have any ideas, please call me.

Thank you

Lois
917 822 2591

loisw@hwhpr.com

Facebook Reunited Me With Sweet 16 Friend

Posted on August 31, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

I’m the one with my eyes closed. I was so cute. I didn’t think so at the time, but now 54 years later I see the cuteness.

I received this photo via Facebook messenger this morning. It came from a gal I was friendly with for a few years in high school. Joanne Engel was the Annette Funicello of our high school. She was beautiful, a great figure and a fabulous singer. I expected her to be a major star.

Annette Funicello

Joanne and her husband today. It’s easy to lift someone else’s photo on Facebook.

I’m not sure what happened to her career, but yesterday I spotted her name on a list of Facebook friends that was associated with someone I know who is a talent agent. I sent her a message asking if she knew me. She instantly responded “yes,” and we set up a time to talk next week. Meanwhile, she emailed this photo to me that documented my presence at her Sweet 16.

My talent agent friend found out that Joanne and I went to school together and she can’t believe we know each other. She knows the two of us from different walks of her life, so it’s difficult for her to comprehend the connection.

It is pretty funny.

I wish my eyes were open. I would have loved to frame this photo. I was hoping to recapture my thoughts way back then. That would be a treat.

Our Newest Project

Posted on August 30, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

Hear My Voice is a civic engagement platform that puts democracy back in the hands of the people. Featuring a smartphone app and website, HMV makes issue voting easy by presenting side-by-side comparisons of issues in a neutral, nonpartisan space.

We are very excited to be involved with HMV because they reach out to organizations with opposing views. You see sides in one place and decide where you stand. No Google searches required.

We spent the evening with Becky Kip, (second from left), who is the CEO and Founder of HMV, discussing objectives, strategies and implementations. We dined at Upland’s and one of the chefs joined our photo.

This is going to be a fun project. You will be hearing a lot more about HMV and the good it does.

MM ii

Robots Perform Funerals

Posted on August 29, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

Japan is leading the way. SoftBank, a Japanese multinational telecommunications and Internet corporation, has programmed its Pepper robot to perform Japanese Buddhist funerals.

That can only mean it’s just a matter of time that robots will be saying prayers over dead bodies all over the world. Japan has been a tech leader for decades.

Pepper demonstrated its ability to perform Buddhist funeral rites at the recent Tokyo Int’l Funeral & Cemetery Show.

SoftBank said Pepper and other robots can cut the cost of a funeral service by thousands of dollars.

Robots performing funerals may sound like a turn off now to many of us, but I can honestly say I am not fan of religious leaders talking about the dearly departed as if they were close friends. I hate that. Funerals are time to truly reflect. I don’t want phony presentations.

Are We Being Recorded ?

Posted on August 27, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

Joanne Wilson

I just read a blog post written by Joanne Wilson, an angel investor, blogger, and co-founder of the Womens Entrepreneur Festival at Gotham Gal Ventures.

Joanne is married to Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures. Together, they are two of the biggest investors in the tech business. When they give their opinion about technology trends and applications, I listen.

Joanne just wrote about her experience with Siri and Alexa. “Having Siri or Alexa overhearing everything in the privacy of my home and somehow knowing who else is around with their phones and then using that data to push information at me and them is something that I am absolutely not comfortable with. Those big ears might make life easier and perhaps a bit entertaining but 24/7 input is not ok. I am unplugging all of these devices immediately.”

Read more about what she has to say here.

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My Facebook Feed

Equal Topless Rights Parade

Posted on August 26, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

We had a topless show right in front of our hotel today in NYC. The Hudson Hotel is located on 58th between 8th and 9th Avenues. Eliot and I were going out for a casual walk at lunchtime when we noticed that the whole street was cordoned off for a demonstration.

There were topless ladies everywhere. They were protesting for equal topless rights. “If men can go topless, so can women.” I am in favor of equal rights for all but you won’t catch me topless. I need all the support I can get.

Eliot and I spotted our cousin Milo Hess, famous pop culture photographer, in the middle of the action. (Full head of white hair and camera in hand). See Milo below.

Today’s event reminded us that New York is still a city of surprises. Eliot and I enjoy the unexpected and appreciate the new and different. Live and let live.

The Solution To Yesterday’s Puzzle

Can You Figure This Out?

Posted on August 26, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

I can’t. This was featured on my facebook feed. I have been staring at this picture for several days. No dice. I can’t figure it out. Can you? Let me know. Thank you.

It’s Not Too Late

Posted on August 25, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

Second Largest Synagogue In Europe

Posted on August 23, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

The second largest synagogue in Europe is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. We just had to see it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The place was bustling with members, visitors, and Hebrew School students.

The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is absolutely one of the most gorgeous temples I have ever seen. We took a lot of pictures so you can see what’s going on. It was built between 1880 and 1888, and consecrated in 1893.

.The Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg is Menachem Mendel Pewzner. Today the Great Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is a registered landmark and an architectural monument of federal importance. The main hall holds 1200 and has women’s galleries on three sides.

In 1999, the Grand Choral Synagogue received a $5 million donation from the Safra family for renovations. The Synagogue was renamed The Edmond J Safra Grand Choral Synagogue in honor of the donation. Some call it the Russian Bolshaya Sinagoga (“The Grand Synagogue”).

This is the money shot inside the synagogue. Eliot finally cut my head off.

We were so thrilled to spend a few hours today at the synagogue. We like to visit synagogues all over the world.

We gave a donation.

Looking at the second floor.

Side view

The other side.

A broader view.

Party room.

Beautiful window in party room.

The women’s section.

Gift shop.

A kosher restaurant on premises. We ate lunch there.

The Hermitage

Posted on August 22, 2017 by loiswhitmanhess

Our Russian tour guide gave us a real workout today. You don’t really get to lose weight because the bread and pastries are so fabulous. They were equally as good in the Scandinavian countries. I don’t remember any Smartours trip having such delicious food, both provided by the tour package and the restaurants we went to on our own.

Our group only has 16 people. We started out with 18 but a couple from Northern California were called home when a member of their family was hospitalized. We never traveled with such a small group, but we soon became a family looking out for each other.

One couple comes from Trinidad and Barbados. Others are from Brooklyn, New Jersey, Chicago, West Virginia, and Arizona. One single gal is a history teacher at Huntington High School on Long Island. We are also traveling with a pathologist who told me some very interesting things that I will share in a future blog post.

One of our stops today was the fabulous Hermitage Museum. It was so overwhelming and beautiful that you felt the past was very present.