The 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to PDF Chair Page Morton Black, widow of Chock Full o’Nuts founder William Black, who established PDF in 1957 after his company’s accountant developed PD. Page, a singer/piano player in The Pierre’s café when she first met her husband, sang the famous Chock Full o’Nuts radio and TV jingle (about “that heavenly coffee….”), helping to bring the brand into every home in America. She surprised the crowd—and even the event organizers—with an impromptu performance of “A Little Bit of Giving,” written by Edward Tone.

As the evening’s emcee, NBC sports anchor Len Berman introduced dinner chair Dr. Judith Sulzberger. Dr. Lucien Côté, professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, was honored with the Page and William Black Humanitarian Award. Also in the mix: Gala chairs Margo Catsimatidis, Dr. Karen Burke Goulandris, and Isobel Robins Konecky; Frank and Kathy Lee Gifford; Ron Konecky; Jeannie Waller; Ruth Bowen and Billy Bryant; and PAL Director of Development Jami Landi. Corporate chairs included John Castle, CEO of Castle Harlan, Inc.; John Catsimatidis, Chair and CEO of Red Apple Group; and Sy Syms, Chair of the Syms Corp.