11th Annual Liberty Ball to Honor Kayla

For the 11th straight year, Penn Staters in the Philadelphia area will join together for the Liberty Ball, a night out to benefit the Four Diamonds.

Although the “blue-tie optional” event is already sold out, there is plenty to look forward to for those who have the chance to be in attendance.

Jamie Nelson (’02) and Melissa Quintana (’06) are co-chairs of the annual event which has raised over $125,000 to date for THON.

“It’s always a rewarding experience to harness the power of the Nittany Network for good,” says Nelson, who danced in THON for the Blue & White Society in 2002.

In addition to a silent auction, raffles, dinner, and dancing, the event has added a new award to honor a very special person. The Kayla Nakonechni Knight Award will be introduced this weekend to honor the late Penn State alumna, THON dancer, and Four Diamonds child. The award will be given out every year at the event going forward.

Also joining in this year’s Liberty Ball will be the Dami Schertzer family, who will speak about how support from THON and activities like Liberty Ball have positively impacted their family.
The event takes place at Ballroom at the Ben (834 Chestnut St #203, Philadelphia, PA 19107) – the same ballroom used in the popular film Silver Linings Playbook.

Nelson added, “Unveiling the total raised at the end of the evening is not only a culmination of our committee’s efforts, but reminiscent of our THON experiences as students at Penn State.”
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Check out Liberty Ball’s website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. For more information, send an email to chair@libertyball.org.