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2011 Foundation Dinner with Danny Meyer and Billy Shore

Posted August 05, 2011

On July 28th Steamboat Foundation had the honor of holding a Foundation Dinner with joint guest speakers Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) and Billy Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength, a national organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in the United States. The evening, held over dinner at USHG's James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award-winning restaurant Eleven Madison Park, was inspriing for 2011 Scholars, Alumni and Steamboat staff alike.

Current Program Director Emily Ryan '04 attended a fundraising event several years ago where she was thrilled to learn the honoree and guest speaker would be Billy Shore, whose book The Cathedral Within had been an inspiration to her while attending Boston College. As Ryan listened to Shore describe his work at Share Our Strength, she knew it was the opportunity of lifetime to meet him. Realizing that roughly 350 other people at the event probably had the same thought, Ryan slipped outside to await Shore's exit. Within seconds of his departure, without a thought towards how crazy it may come across, she maneuvered her way next to Shore, introduced herself and proceeded to tell him her life story, including her struggle over the decision to leave her role as Marketing Coordinator at her beloved New York Giants to pursue a career in the non-profit sector. Shore listened patiently, waiting until she finally stopped to take a breath to hand her a business card and tell her that although he regretfully had a plane to catch, if she would send him an email he would be happy to mentor her.

True to his word, Shore served as an invaluable resource to Ryan in the following years, responding to emails and phone calls, and even meeting her for coffee when his schedule allowed. It was during one of these talks that the name Danny Meyer came up, surprising as Ryan was scheduled to attend (as an Alumni guest) a Steamboat Foundation Dinner hosted by Meyer that evening. Ryan listened in amazement as Shore explained his friendship with Meyer and the work their organizations had done together to raise money in the fight against childhood hunger. To her this was the ultimate Steamboat lesson in action: the power of two dedicated people in seemingly disparate industries collaborating to produce positive change in their communities.

Steamboat's own relationship with Meyer and USHG has grown remarkably since Co-Founder and Co-Chair Andy Walter first introduced Meyer to the Foundation years ago. For successive classes of Steamboat Scholars, Meyer's book Setting the Table has served as a creative and professional muse and he himself has further enriched the summer experience with his presence at Foundation Dinners, with his acclaimed restaurants serving as backdrop. Over the past three summers, the partnership has further progressed to include placement of a Steamboat Scholar (a junior from Cornell University) at USHG's Shake Shack restaurant.

Since joining Steamboat's staff in 2009, Ryan has hoped to bring Meyer and Shore together at a Steamboat event to share their intertwining stories with eager Scholars. The result at last week's dinner was almost too special to capture in words, but one of our 2011 Scholars has met the challenge wonderfully.

Jen Schildberg '11 shares her summary on the Meyer and Shore Foundation Dinner.

Last Thursday presented itself as the night of the final Foundation Dinner of our summer as Steamboat Scholars. As the Boston-based Scholars landed at the dorms and the New Yorkers trickled in from their respective internships, we all donned our shined and spiffy attire, preparing to eat our way through another impeccable restaurant. The night's contender, Eleven Madison Park, one of the French-inspired restaurants owned by Union Square Hospitality Group.

As we opened the glass door to the entrance of the restaurant our senses were romanced by the ways of fine dining. The spacious main area was divided and arranged in an esthetically pleasing manner and the near floor-to-ceiling windows granted it the ambiance of the soft, setting sun. Delicious smells were wafting throughout the room and the quiet mumblings of dinnertime discussions could be heard. My taste buds were on edge as we headed up the stairs to our elegant private room. The glass wall overlooking the main dining area was a charming (and for the "people watchers" such as myself, functional) feature of our dining quarters.

We all took our seats as the greetings and brief conversations quieted down and were introduced to our two special guest speakers of the evening: Danny Meyer and Billy Shore. As the two addressed the group, they exchanged playful banter over who would start, who would follow, and who would follow up again. Listening to our successful, esteemed guests tell their stories, we couldn't help but notice the humbleness that was exuded despite their extreme success as entrepreneurs. We were able to voice our many curiosities while feeling as though we were talking to old friends over a palate cleanser followed by a decadent scallop appetizer. Our guests then bid us adieu as the wait staff (joined by Steamboat's own Michael Ridd '10) brought us our main course, a choice of beef or halibut dish, in an inconspicuously organized manner that allowed each waiter bearing two plates to space themselves such that eight people could be served at once in a pattern resembling a domino effect that was quite entertaining to watch if one was attentive.

Stimulating conversations and a delectable dessert followed our main course. Just as we all patted our happy bellies and slouched a bit in our seats, preparing for a stalemate in the match against our food, we were informed that it was time to get up for a group photo. We grabbed our new Shake Shack sunglasses, courtesy of current USHG intern Katrina Lockwood '11 and her Senior Mentor Randy Garutti, COO of Shake Shack, to pose for some Men in Black-esque photos before saying our goodbyes and goodnights to our company, the exquisite restaurant, and to yet another wonderful evening hosted by the Steamboat Foundation.

Click here to view photos from the dinner.

Steamboat Class of 2011 wearing Shake Shack sunglasses
2011 Steamboat Scholars, Alumni and staff wearing their new Shake Shack sunglasses