Benefits of Laughter 2022
Thursday, October 20, 2022
The St. Regis Atlanta
88 W Paces Ferry Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30305
6:15 p.m. - Reception
7:15 p.m. - Dinner and Program
Our signature fundraising event held each fall, Benefits of Laughter celebrates stories of recovery from mental illness and affirms the importance of effective mental treatment for the health of our workforce, schools, and community. A unique feature of the evening is a comedy performance, proving that sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.
Entertainment
Comedian Tom Cotter finished as runner-up and the Breakout Star from Season 7's "America's Got Talent." Tom was the first comedian ever to be a finalist on the show. Tom performed as a special guest star and hosted "The Season 8 AGT Snapple Viewing Party." More recently Tom performed against the best of the best "Got Talent" performances from other years and around the world in "America's Got Talent: The Champions." Tom's other numerous television and radio credits include "The Tonight Show," "Last Comic Standing," his very own "Comedy Central Presents... Tom Cotter," The Howard Stern Show, Comics Unleashed, multiple appearances on CBS' "The Late Late Show" and Celebrity Host of "Gotham Comedy Live" on AXS-TV. You can find Tom headlining all of America's most famous comedy clubs and international comedy festivals. Tom is also a regular on Fox News Channel and co-starred in an episode of CBS' "The Good Wife." Tom's first book, "Bad Dad: A Guide to Pitiful Parenting," a collection of jokes, gags, one-liners, and pithy bad advice for fed-up parents, is available everywhere.
EVENT CHAIRS
Ginny Brewer (right)
Sally Singletary (left)
2022 Event Sponsorship
Mental illness affects individuals, families, businesses and communities. Event sponsorship helps individuals with mental illness access and fully engage in a nationally recognized treatment program.
2022 Sponsors
DIAMOND
PLATINUM
Edwina and Tom Johnson
Betsy and Mark West
GOLD
Liz and Frank Blake
Michele and Patrick Boushka
Ginny and Charles Brewer
Christmas Creek Charitable Fund
Lorre and George Gaudiosi
Anne and Berny Gray
Rand Hagen
Kristin and Jim Howard
Carla Knobloch
Karen and Richard Parker
Patty and Doug Reid
Beth and Jerry Shaifer
Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher
Sally and Ross Singletary
SILVER
Alston & Bird
CBRE
Nan and Ed Easterlin
Susan and Jim Hannan
Roya and Bahman Irvani
Maria and Tim Tassopoulos
BRONZE
Betsy and Scott Akers
Shannon and Stan Dixon
The Home Depot Foundation
New South Construction
Christine and Bill Ragland
USI Insurance Services; Michelle and Steve Sullivan
2022 Volunteer Leadership
CORPORATE COMMITTEE
Jim Kerr, Chair
Janine Brown
Michael Mock
Ross Singletary
Ty Smith
Brennan Spry
Will Stengel
Michelle Sullivan
PATRON COMMITTEE
Kay and Jim Douglass, Co-Chairs
Swati and Rahul Patel, Co-Chairs
Meg and Jeff Arnold
Wendy and Neal Aronson
Helen Ballard and Ric Felker
Taz and Vik Bhatia
John Bossard
Carol and Charles Doty
Rebecca and Sanjay Gupta
Elizabeth Paris Hagood
Amy Kim and John Gira
Elizabeth Klump
Carrie and Whit Lanier
Barbara and Bert Levy
Frances and Robin Loudermilk
Christine and Bill Ragland
Tricia and Maurice Rosenbaum
Liz and Rob Shults
Carrie and Scott Taylor
Olivia and Zach Wall
Karen Spencer and Bob Welanetz
A Seriously Funny Night
For more than 20 years, Benefits of Laughter has been delighting the Atlanta community with good laughter for a great cause. Held each fall as our primary fundraiser, the event is a beautiful and exciting evening that applauds the passion and dedication of all those involved with Skyland Trail. Every year, a different comedic guest entertains more than 600 of Atlanta’s business and corporate, community, and philanthropic leaders.
More than $15 million have been raised from Benefits of Laughter to support life-changing therapeutic programs and fund financial aid awards to bring the costs of treatment within reach for more clients and families.
Annually the event raises more than $1 million through corporate and individual contributions. Proceeds support financial aid awards that improve access to treatment and important therapeutic programs for adults and teens.
CONTACT: Pam McAdams at 678.686.5905 or pmcadams@skylandtrail.org.
