She may have been an 11th hour replacement, but Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York –– charmed Charleston on Jan. 23 with a heartfelt and natural style that supported her charitable work and love of family.
Ferguson replaced TV Doctor Sanjay Gupta, as she addressed an appreciative audience of 800 giving souls at the Roper Xavier Society Fifth Annual Gala at Charleston Place. Gupta was in Haiti reporting the aftermath of the earthquake there for CNN and lending his medical expertise to victims.
Invitations to the reception and dinner went to contributors of $1,000 or more to the Roper Xavier Society, which annually funds projects and programs of Roper St. Francis Healthcare. In 2009, funds went to Mount Pleasant Hospital, cardiac rehabilitation and wellness at Roper Hospital, nursing scholarships, Roper St. Francis Cancer Center among other projects.
During the evening, the 2009 Physician Champion Award, presented by the Cogdell Spencer Charitable Fund President and CEO Frank C. Spencer to Stanley M. Wilson, MD. Wilson was honored for his work as an advocate and leader for the Roper St. Francis Foundation and who serves as an example of compassionate caring and philanthropic service to Roper St. Francis Healthcare and to the extended communities it serves.
“Roper St. Francis – you live your brand. Life is about discipline and gratitude. Tonight we’re celebrating the discipline of joy and compassion,” Ferguson said in her opening remarks.
Ferguson’s address was interspersed with photos projected on giant screens on either side of the podium. She shared black and white photos of her early years, spoke warmly of the Royal family and Queen Elizabeth, and described her ex-husband Prince Andrew as “the Queen’s absolutely best looking son.” They remain good friends as they share the responsibility of raising their two daughters, Princes Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York.
“I support him and he supports me,” she said.
Two weeks after she and Andrew, a Naval officer, were married, she had planned to go with her husband from port to port. Instead she had to stay behind.
“I was put on the second floor of Buckingham Palace – an institution. We saw each other 40 days a year during our first five years of marriage.”
Ferguson said that America “saved her life” after the divorce.
“America gave me my confidence back, my life back and my children their mother back,” she said.
Among the numerous charities in which she is active or has founded is The Sarah Ferguson Foundation based in New York.
“My office was on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center. In my window was Little Red,” she said, referring to the doll she created for her “Little Red” series of Children’s books.
On the day of the World Trade Center disaster, Ferguson was 20 minutes late to work, which likely saved her life.
“Later that day, Little Red was found in the rubble,” she said as a videotape of a fireman pulling Little Red out of the ashes played on the screen.
“At the age of 50, at the end of the day, you stand up and say, ‘Come on everybody, let’s make a difference.”
Her role today, she said, is to be the person who connects the dots between the doctors and scientists with the people who need to hear the message.