Last night Carol, Frank and CJ Cannata hosted their annual charity fundraiser and awards gala in NJ. This was my first time attending. Wow, what a show. I am sure CJ will do a thorough piece that I’ll run later (with much better pictures) but here’s an early glance at a few photos I took. Highlights include awards won by Lexmark, Toshiba and the “8-peat” Executive of the Year by Konica Minolta’s Rick Taylor, introduced by Al Scibetta of Copier Fax of Buffalo, one of my favorite dealers ever. Carol Cannata won the inaugural female executive of the year award, something she clearly didn’t know was coming.

I was having a hard time adding it up because the final donation amount kept growing. It was close to $100,000 and then I think someone in that room matched that amount. I could be wrong about the doubling, but even if I am, what a wonderful evening.

The Cannatas have been hosting this dinner for around 30 years and have raised over one million dollars for charities. If you haven’t been to or don’t know anything about this event, it was amazing. The food and wine was incredible, the company was even better. Literally, almost everyone who is anyone was at this show and I would like to thank Tanya and ESP for bringing me as their guest.

Thank you Frank, CJ and Carol for providing the opportunity for the copier industry to stop, mingle and have some fun and doing it in a way that benefits those in need. Can’t wait til next year. See you all at the MWAi Executive Connection Summit in Oct.! Enjoy the pictures.

~Andy