Honoring Thomas F. Secunda
We celebrated our 23rd annual gala in a magnificent new venue, the exclusive Metropolitan Club in New York City. We honored Thomas F. Secunda, Co-Founder, Vice Chairman and Member of the Management Committee of Bloomberg, LP, whose extensive philanthropy through the Secunda Family Foundation covers a broad spectrum of interests. Mr. Secunda is a signator of The Giving Pledge, by which an individual commits to donating half of his wealth to philanthropy either during his lifetime or in his will. Mr. Secunda’s wife and daughters are deeply involved in the decisions he makes regarding the causes he supports and he views his foundation as truly a family affair. The Secunda Family Foundation focuses on improving community life in two ways: supporting the development and improvement of public lands and national parks and enhancing the reach and depth of museums and cultural institutions. Other gifts are awarded to support medical research (from which among others, we have benefited) and to Jewish causes, particularly programs designed to fight antisemitism. Most recently, effective relief to and restoration of facilities in the US Virgin Islands accelerated their recovery from the devastation wreaked by Hurricanes and Irma and Maria.