Last Wednesday, over a thousand people flooded the National Building Museum in black-tie attire for the 29th annual Washington Business Hall of Fame Induction.
The event recognized today's exceptional role models and honored them for their professional and philanthropic contributions to the Greater Washington region.
This year's Laureates were -- Diane Hoskins (Co-CEO, Gensler), Tony Nicely (Chairman and CEO, GEICO), Kenneth Samet (President and CEO MedStar Health), and Gary Tabach (Managing Partner, Greater Washington, Deloitte & Touche LLP).
The gala, sponsored by Greater Washington Board of Trade, Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, and Washingtonian magazine raised of record of 1.3 million dollars for JA.
So what exactly does Junior Achievement do? They help shape the business leaders of tomorrow through a multitude of partnerships, organizations and after school programs. During the 2015-2016 school year, JA served 65,108 students, delivering 714,618 instructional hours.
When JA kid Zoree Jones took the stage, it became clear how JA's work make a difference. She lead the night off by reciting "Lift Off," a viral poem by a recent Harvard graduate, Donovan Livingston. With remarkable stage presence, she then began to share how JA made a personal impact on her life. She exclaimed, "our volunteer mentors taught us valuable lessons about business and about life. these are lessons that can't be Googled, but can only come from being coached and mentored by people with many years of business and leadership experience."