Last week I attended the Jillian Fund Gala held in Garfield NJ. This is the annual dinner to raise funds for The Jillian Fund, a charity started by George Gorman of Ricoh in honor of his daughter Jillian. I just saw that this dinner raised over $250,000!

Many of you reading this are familiar with The Jillian Fund as you graciously sponsored our Patriot Pack’s fundraising ride across America this past spring.


Click here to see all of my pictures from the Gala


This was the first time I was able to attend the gala and it was over the top. An incredible facility treating about 700 people to an amazing dinner, casino gambling, silent auctions and a wonderful night of socializing with hundreds of copier dealers and OEMs. People came in from everywhere for this dinner.

I even got a bit carried away and wound up with a guitar signed by Maroon 5! 🙂

The Jillian Fund has become the most visible industry charity as competitive dealers and OEMs have come together again and again to help this amazing cause.

Competitors ESP and Innovolt come together
Competitors ESP and Innovolt come together

For those of you that don’t remember what The Jillian Fund does, it helps people pay their bills so they can be with their child at their most critical time of need. It literally pays their mortgages and keeps their lights on. I’ve never seen a charity like this and during the dinner we heard from several families that George’s charity has  helped. It was incredibly moving. It makes such a difference to people at a time when they need it most.

During our ride last year, every copier and printer company (except Canon and Xerox – come on guys, anything you can do would help) supported us with donations to The Jillian Fund. In the end, I think we raised over $150,000. Dealers donated, peripheral industry companies like PaperCut, ACDI, and so many others did too. Clover even donated a Harley Davidson Fat Bob motorcycle. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of you all.

Mike Stramaglio, our fearless leader of The Patriot Pack has told me he’s “got one more in him” so it’s looking like we’re going to saddle up this spring to do it again.

https://youtu.be/h-uTSQKx3js

Thank you all so much for supporting The Jillian Fund, it was great seeing you all last week. And thank you George for all you have done. I grew up in this business and my dad has always loved this industry and the incredible people that make it what it is.

PS…congrats to you Cubs fans, it certainly put the evening over the top.

~Andy Slawetsky