The 26th Peter Stuyvesant Ball (2007)

Read about the 2007 Peter Stuyvesant Ball.

THE 26th PETER STUYVESANT BALL
November 16, 2007 - New York, NY

The 26th Peter Stuyvesant Ball, a primary source of funds for the NAF's U.S. Fulbright Fellows Program, was held on Friday, November 16, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt New York. The Sponsor of the Ball was The Schiphol Group, Amsterdam, whose President and Chief Executive Officer, Gerlach J. Cerfontaine, served as Ball Chair. Co-chair was Alain Maca, President of JFK International Air Terminal. The Ball’s Organizing Committee was chaired by Fred G. Peelen, a member of the NAF Board and its Executive Committee.

Schiphol's sponsorship of the Ball coincided with the 10th Anniversary of the Schiphol - JFK IAT agreement. The NAF's patron, Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven, was in attendance, as was his son, His Highness Prince Maurits, together with his wife, Her Highness Princess Marilène. The theme of the Ball was dubbed The Daffodil Ball in light of the 25,000 daffodil plants donated for the Ball’s decorations by Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Bulbs, Sassenheim, as well as to Mayor Michel R. Bloomberg’s declaration naming the Daffodil the official flower of the City of New York.

During the opening ceremonies, the coveted Peter Stuyvesant Award, which has only been awarded seven times since its inception in 1944, was awarded to Mark Edersheim, and accepted on his behalf by his son, Steven. The NAF Chair, Ennius Bergsma, presided over the ceremony. Mr. Edersheim has been involved with the NAF in various leadership capacities for over 45 years, first as a trustee and later President of the Netherland Benevolent Society, during which time he orchestrated the merger with the Netherland-America Foundation, naming the new entity the Netherlands-America Community Association (NACA). Following the merger with the Dutch-America India Company in 1989, the name of the Netherland-America Foundation was reinstated. Mark served as Vice President and a member of the executive committee of the NAF and continued as a Director until 2001, but remained active in the NAF's affairs until 2005.

Following remarks by the Ball Chair, Gerlach Cerfontaine, a check presentation of $25,000 for the restoration of the Peter Stuyvesant Ball painting in City Hall was presented by the City of Amsterdam to the City of New York.
Master of Ceremonies of this black tie event was Philip Walkate, and dance music was provided by New York City Swing band.

The evening featured an exciting raffle, filled with airline trips and hotel accommodations, and the exuberant Dutch artist Menno Baars, created a new, vibrant daffodil painting in the presence of our guests, which was auctioned off.

The evening ended at the very popular post-Ball Folly Nightclub, where entertainment was provided by the Lieven Venken Project.

To see all photos from the Ball, click here.

To see Peter Stuyvesant Ball featured in De Telegraph, November 19, 2007, click here.
 

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