McKelvey is executive director of The National Capital Area Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is gearing up for their annual Leukemia Ball on Saturday. How long have you been involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society?
I just celebrated my 19th anniversary with the organization in January.
Is this the only Leukemia ball in the nation?
We have many black-tie events in some of our other chapters in the society, but this is the only one of this size. It’s the largest in our organization.
What is your involvement in planning the Leukemia Ball?
Myself and a small, select group of staff members work with our volunteer committee, which is made up of 60 volunteers that help us go out and leverage their relationships to help us sell tables and sell raffle tickets. And also our volunteers help us secure over 400 items for our auction. My role is to work with our volunteers to help keep them motivated and focused on leveraging their relationships.
Can the general public purchase tickets to the ball?
Individual tickets are available to the ball. They’re $1,000 for an individual ticket. You don’t have to come in just by buying a table.
Do you have to buy aticket to get raffle ticket?
You do not, and you do not have to be present to win. One of the exciting things is that we only have 6,000 tickets available.
I know you’ve had entertainers like Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Lionel Richie and Hootie and the Blowfish in the past. Who are this year’s entertainers?
We are so excited that the fabulous Diana Ross is coming to perform for us this year, and also comedian John Heffron. John is most known as the winner of the first season of “Last Comic Standing.”
Erica Redmond
