{"id":36831,"date":"2019-11-07T12:38:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T20:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=36831"},"modified":"2019-11-07T12:38:20","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T20:38:20","slug":"sixth-annual-jillian-fund-gala-represents-a-bonding-experience-for-office-technology-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2019\/11\/sixth-annual-jillian-fund-gala-represents-a-bonding-experience-for-office-technology-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixth Annual Jillian Fund Gala Represents a Bonding Experience for Office Technology Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
A shrine to Jillian Gorman’s memory sat just outside The Venetian ballroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An estimated 720 people crammed the ballroom at The Venetian\nin Garfield, New Jersey, on Oct. 30 for the sixth annual Jillian Fund Gala.\nDealers, manufacturers, suppliers and other providers throughout the industry\nnetwork joined friends and families of those who have benefitted from The\nJillian Fund and its mission to provide resources for the families of seriously\nill children who desire to spend time with their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Emcee Bill McLaughlin<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to Bill McLaughlin, CTO for Atlantic, Tomorrow\u2019s\nOffice and chairman of The Jillian Fund, the sixth annual gala continues to\nfuel a charity that so far has raised more than $2 million, which has helped\n187 families reconcile their finances, pay for food and lodging, address\nmortgage and utility bills, along with other expenses. The funding enables\nparents to be bedside with their children at Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph\nM. Sanzari Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s gala included a silent auction, casino night and\na haunted house, along with a raffle for a Harley-Davidson Iron 883 motorcycle,\ndonated by Clover Imaging Group. All told, the benefit raised more than\n$470,000 for The Jillian Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McLaughlin was heartened by the universal showing of support\nfrom the industry at large, a groundswell which continues to grow. \u201cWhen you\nget a large amount of people together for a great cause, good things happen,\u201d\nhe said. \u201cThis industry and everybody involved in it is generous and willing to\ngive back. There\u2019s not enough good in the world today, but this is one of those\ngood things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we first started, we never, ever imagined that it\nwould get this big. But when you get behind a good cause and get good people\ninvolved, that\u2019s when the magic happens. So many people want to help, and every\nyear the family continues to grow and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Tragedy to\nTriumph<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McLaughlin and Ricoh\u2019s George Gorman led the team that\ncreated The Jillian Fund in the summer of 2013. In 2009, Gorman\u2019s daughter,\nJillian, was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow, acute\nmyeloid leukemia. In a span of three-plus years, she endured chemotherapy,\nthree bone marrow transplants, a kidney transplant, two full years of dialysis\nand lengthy hospital stays. But in March of 2013, Jillian lost her battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, George Gorman divided his time between\nwork and hospital visits. But even in his grief, Gorman had the clarity to sympathize\nwith other fathers and parents who do not have the resources necessary to\ndevote the appropriate attention to their sick children. The day-to-day needs\nof running a household do not disappear in the face of an ongoing life event,\nand he felt parents should not have to weigh those responsibilities against\nspending precious time with a sick child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Patriot Pack sang to Jillian Gorman in heaven.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the evening\u2019s brief presentation portion, videos and\nin-person testimonies were given by the families and some of the children who\nsurvived health ordeals, who came to thank The Jillian Fund for making their journeys\na lot less taxing. The Patriot Pack, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who each\nyear make \u201cThe Ride,\u201d an 11-day cross-country trek\u2014came onstage and serenaded\nJillian. The Ride raised $100,000 for The Jillian Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all, the night\u2019s festivities gave attendees the\nopportunity to take pause and be appreciative of what is truly important in\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you look around the room, you see so many competitors,\nmanufacturers, leasing companies, so many types of companies related to the\nindustry. They come together under one roof for such a wonderful gala,\u201d said\nLarry Weiss, president of Atlantic, Tomorrow\u2019s Office. \u201cWe\u2019re all very\ncompetitive on the field, but we all understand there\u2019s a higher, better cause\nthat we all work for. That\u2019s what\u2019s making this world a better place. We put\naside what we do all day long, take off the shoulder pads and the equipment,\nand we get together to raise money for the less fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bob Goldberg (left) presents Bill McLaughlin (center) with a Patriot Pack jacket while onstage with George Gorman, Jillian’s father.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mike Marusic, president and CEO of Sharp Imaging and\nInformation Company of America, echoed Weiss\u2019 sentiments. \u201cTonight, we put\neverything aside and everyone\u2019s joking with each other,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my\nopinion, this is what is best about the industry, the ability to come together\nfor such a worthwhile cause. For us, it\u2019s a fun night to relax and raise money.\nBut you don\u2019t always think about a family\u2019s burden when they have a sick child.\nThey still need to take care of things. But they truly must focus on what\u2019s\nreally important, and that\u2019s their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An estimated 720 people crammed the ballroom at The Venetian in Garfield, New Jersey, on Oct. 30 for the sixth annual Jillian Fund Gala. Dealers, manufacturers, suppliers and other providers throughout the industry network joined friends and families of those who have benefitted from The Jillian Fund and its mission to provide resources for the families of seriously ill children who desire to spend time with their loved ones. According to Bill McLaughlin, CTO for Atlantic, Tomorrow\u2019s Office and chairman of The Jillian Fund, the sixth annual gala continues to fuel a charity that so far has raised more than $2 million, which has helped 187 families reconcile their finances, pay for food and lodging, address mortgage and utility bills, along with other expenses. The funding enables parents to be bedside with their children at Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph M. Sanzari Children\u2019s Hospital. This year\u2019s gala included a silent auction, casino night and a haunted house, along with a raffle for a Harley-Davidson Iron 883 motorcycle, donated by Clover Imaging Group. All told, the benefit raised more than $470,000 for The Jillian Fund. McLaughlin was heartened by the universal showing of support from the industry at large, a groundswell which continues to grow. \u201cWhen you get a large amount of people together for a great cause, good things happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThis industry and everybody involved in it is generous and willing to give back. There\u2019s not enough good in the world today, but this is one of those good things. \u201cWhen we first started, we never, ever imagined that it would get this big. But when you get behind a good cause and get good people involved, that\u2019s when the magic happens. So many people want to help, and every year the family continues to grow and grow.\u201d From Tragedy to Triumph McLaughlin and Ricoh\u2019s George Gorman led the team that created The Jillian Fund in the summer of 2013. In 2009, Gorman\u2019s daughter, Jillian, was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow, acute myeloid leukemia. In a span of three-plus years, she endured chemotherapy, three bone marrow transplants, a kidney transplant, two full years of dialysis and lengthy hospital stays. But in March of 2013, Jillian lost her battle. During this time, George Gorman divided his time between work and hospital visits. But even in his grief, Gorman had the clarity to sympathize with other fathers and parents who do not have the resources necessary to devote the appropriate attention to their sick children. The day-to-day needs of running a household do not disappear in the face of an ongoing life event, and he felt parents should not have to weigh those responsibilities against spending precious time with a sick child. During the evening\u2019s brief presentation portion, videos and in-person testimonies were given by the families and some of the children who survived health ordeals, who came to thank The Jillian Fund for making their journeys a lot less taxing. The Patriot Pack, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who each year make \u201cThe Ride,\u201d an 11-day cross-country trek\u2014came onstage and serenaded Jillian. The Ride raised $100,000 for The Jillian Fund. Above all, the night\u2019s festivities gave attendees the opportunity to take pause and be appreciative of what is truly important in life. \u201cWhen you look around the room, you see so many competitors, manufacturers, leasing companies, so many types of companies related to the industry. They come together under one roof for such a wonderful gala,\u201d said Larry Weiss, president of Atlantic, Tomorrow\u2019s Office. \u201cWe\u2019re all very competitive on the field, but we all understand there\u2019s a higher, better cause that we all work for. That\u2019s what\u2019s making this world a better place. We put aside what we do all day long, take off the shoulder pads and the equipment, and we get together to raise money for the less fortunate.\u201d Mike Marusic, president and CEO of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, echoed Weiss\u2019 sentiments. \u201cTonight, we put everything aside and everyone\u2019s joking with each other,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my opinion, this is what is best about the industry, the ability to come together for such a worthwhile cause. For us, it\u2019s a fun night to relax and raise money. But you don\u2019t always think about a family\u2019s burden when they have a sick child. They still need to take care of things. But they truly must focus on what\u2019s really important, and that\u2019s their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":36832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,1638],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36838,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36831\/revisions\/36838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}