Photography by Jess McNavich
On Wednesday, the Capital Region’s charitable community gathered at Putnam Place for the 6th annual Capital Region Gives Back, an event that honors 10 local do-gooders and raises money for the nonprofits they represent. This year’s fundraiser was made possible by sponsors Rotor-Matic Sewer & Drain Solutions and Caffe Italia Ristorante, as well as our 2024 honorees: Tatiana Benack of Noteworthy Resources, Diane Eber of The Egg, Tracy Muscatello of HeartsHerd Animal Sanctuary, Kelly Sauders of Sidewalk Warriors, Bhawin Suchak of Youth FX, Tom Denny of SoBro Conservancy, Rasi Harper of Backstretch Employee Service Team, Lisa Morahan of Floydwarriors, Diane Nazarro of Veterans & Community Housing Coalition and Matt Whitbeck of Northeast Construction Trades Workforce Coalition.
Upon arrival, guests received a welcome glass of red or white wine by Friexenet Mionetto, as well as an Italian-inspired buffet dinner by Mazzone Hospitality. They snapped photos in the O Snap photo booth and jammed to holiday tunes by DJ Ketchup until emcee Mark Mulholland of NewsChannel 13 took the stage to introduce the honorees, who each went home with a floral bouquet generously donated by Samantha Nass Floral Design. While the night was about celebrating the 10 honorees and their nonprofits, it was also a friendly competition to see who could raise the most money for their cause. In the end, Tracy Muscatello, founder of HeartsHerd, came out on top, and went home with a gift card to Saratoga’s brand-new Brookmere resort.
