In 2009, Fenway Health opened new doors for our community, allowing us to care, heal and inspire like never before.

On Saturday, April 4, 2009, more than 1,300 gay, transgender and bisexual men and their friends and supporters turned out for the 16th annual Men’s Event to raise more than $650,000 in cash, pledges and in-kind support for programs and services at Fenway Health.  It was another record-breaking year for The Men's Event, which together with The Women’s Dinner Party raised more than $1.2 million.

Created in 1994 to raise funds for Fenway Health and to recognize the extraordinary public, educational and artistic contributions made by gay men, The Men’s Event is now a highly anticipated black-tie event.

Congressman Barney Frank presented the Congressman Gerry E. Studds Award to Andrew Tobias at The Men’s Event.  Andrew is Democratic National Committee Treasurer, financial expert, frequent television commentator and author.  He is a Harvard Business School Graduate who has written for New York Magazine, TIME, Esquire and The New York Times Sunday Magazine and created Managing Your Money, a pioneering personal finance software package. 

Andrew’s book The Best Little Boy in the World, about growing up gay, has been continuously in print since 1973.  It was added to the Modern Library Series 25 years later to coincide with publication of its sequel, The Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up.  His daily column appears online at Andrewtobias.com.  

The Congressman Gerry E. Studds Award honors individuals of integrity and selflessness who embody the spirit of service and provide positive leadership for the LGBT community.  Congressman Gerry E. Studds became the first openly gay Member of Congress in 1983 when he proudly acknowledged his sexual orientation standing on the congressional floor before the House of Representatives. In the early 1980’s, when there were no openly gay or lesbian individuals at the national level, Congressman Studds quickly became one of the nation’s most prominent gay men and a hero to the emerging LGBT community.  The Congressman Gerry E. Studds Award is given at each year’s Men’s Event in honor and memory of Studds, who passed away in October 2006.

We’d like to thank all of our Table Captains and Event Team, our corporate sponsors, Andrew Tobias, Kate Clinton, Congressman Barney Frank, Dean Hara and VJ Tom Yaz.  And we’d especially like to thank John Basile, David Brown and James A. Lopata, our Event Chairs, who were the driving force behind the success of this year’s Men's Event.

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