Carnaval at the Copa

Thank you for joining PDF on November 14 for Carnaval at the Copa! PDF was honored to be the first charity event at the newly-opened Copacabana in the heart of Times Square, NYC. The event hosted nearly 300 guests and grossed over $62,000.  All funds raised will benefit Parkinson’s research.

Guests enjoyed dinner, open bar, and music from GDO Soul, while a lucky few received salsa lessons on the dance floor. Some competed to win exciting prizes by playing games of chance while others bid on silent auction items ranging from NY Giants box seats to a week in Phuket, Thailand.

Amy Sole, a co-chair of the event, said, “I was thrilled to help lead the PDF Carnaval at the Copa for this great cause and in memory of my father. Thanks to everyone who joined us for such a fun event at such an iconic venue!”

PDF thanks Board Member and club co-owner Peter Dorn for generously underwriting a portion of the event; our sponsors; Master of Ceremonies Mike Woods of Fox 5's Good Day New York; our enthusiastic event co-chairs Bob Benjamin, Jose Cruz, Peter Dorn, Stephanie Goldman-Pittel, Sharon Klein, Amy Sole, Douglas Stern and Jeffrey Zygler; and the host committee for their hard work in making this event a success.

View Event Photos

Master of Ceremonies: Mike Woods, Fox 5's Good Day New York

Co-Chairs: Bob Benjamin, Jose Cruz, Peter Dorn, Stephanie Goldman-Pittel, Sharon Klein, Amy Sole, Douglas Stern, Jeffrey Zygler

Host Committee: Roy Alcalay, Melissa Barry, Josh Bernstein, Caitlin Carey, Josephine Castro, Megan Costello, Rob Dickar, Blake Drummond, Robin Elliott, Pauline Evans, Genna Farber, Joel Gibson, Megan Girvalo, Gene Gurkoff, Thomas Heymann, David Jacks, Sarah Janicki, Debra Lans, Diana Levine, Jorge Lizarralde, Mary Looram, Mike Maniaci, Katie Miller, Nancy Ozelli Schiffman, Eddie Pelto, Carolyn D. Punter, Robin Rogers, Terry Schirok, Stacey Schmitt, Lisa Scudera, Scott Shushansky, Paul Silverman, Lisa Stern, Louis Vitale, Dan Volpe, Eve Wolff, Christi Raftery Wood, Linda Yang, Robert Yang, Juliana Zhou

Entertainment: GDO Soul featuring Greg Denard

Master of Ceremonies

Mike Woods joined WNYW in June 2001 as the morning meteorologist for Fox 5's Good Day New York and the midday news. In addition to providing forecasts, he also works as a feature reporter.

Mr. Woods is originally from Sacramento, California, but has been moving all about the country since 1993. His first job was in eastern North Carolina, where he worked as the morning and noon weather anchor. While in North Carolina, he covered several hurricanes, including Bertha and Fran in 1996. Before heading to the Big Apple, he spent some time giving hot forecasts in the deserts of Phoenix, Arizona.

Mr. Woods graduated from U.C. Davis with a degree in Rhetoric and Communications, and he also has a strong background in meteorology. He is an AMS seal holder and was nominated for an Emmy for best weather forecast for the southwest region.

Mr. Woods enjoys racquetball, biking, hiking, snow skiing, water skiing and working out in the gym. He has been featured in Muscle and Fitness magazine in the "Real People" column. He also does a lot of charitable work with the community, especially with local schools and children's organizations.