Chicago — Tim Litle, chairman and founder of Litle & Co. may have been the man of the evening at the Direct Marketing Education Foundation’s annual awards dinner and auction, held here Saturday, but his wife Joan got her fair share of attention, too.
During the program and scholarship auction, several people pledged donations in the names of their spouses. After one attendee made his donation in the name of Joan Litle, several others followed suit. Not to be outdone, during his acceptance speech for the 2007 DMEF Edward N. Mayer Jr. Award for Educational Leadership, Litle pledged $100,000 to the DMEF’s Litle Fund for a new pilot program and in the name of his wife.
The new program is intended to create a way for the DMEF to tap into donations made by college alumni to their alma maters and influence the direct marketing curriculum offered by schools.
Pledges for the program and scholarship auction exceeded the evening’s goal of $150,000 for a total of $163,000, not counting Litle’s donation.
During the live auction, the bidding was lively as representatives from many leading direct marketing firms competed for a trip to Machu Picchu and a day as a fighter pilot, among other prizes.
Also being honored Saturday night was Draftfcb, which received the 2007 DMEF Corporate Leadership Award.
–Posted by Chantal Todé
