(Photo: JeffreyHolmes.com)

A special Awards Reception and wine tasting was held to recognize the HIV Law Project with NGLCCNY’s first annual Social Enterprise Award. The award was accepted by Tracy L. Welsh, JD, MPH and Executive Director the HIV Law Project. By leveraging innovation in its operations and service model and employing leading-edge best practices in making a difference in our community, HIV Law Project embodies the power of social impact as it develops effective new models for delivery of life-saving HIV/AIDS education and prevention. The award was presented during the 19th Annual GLBT Expo 2012 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on March 17, 2012 in New York City.

The Metro New York affiliate chamber of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce engaged the services of noted New York Event Photographer, Jeffrey Holmes Photography to capture the story of the organization’s participation in the expo. As their go to photographer for the NGLCCNY events, Jeffrey Holmes was tasked with the responsibility of capturing images of the award presentation and wine tasting reception. Additional event photography coverage included a panel discussion entitled “Gay Wedding Trends & Considerations” and general images of the entire expo.

King Ferry Winery, maker of award winning Treleaven Wines.

A wine tasting of Treleaven Wines from the King Ferry Winery. King Ferry Winery, maker of Treleaven Wines, is superbly located on the east side of Cayuga Lake. The winery produces multiple award winning Treleaven Wines, including Chardonnays that are crafted in the centuries-old Burgundian tradition.

"Gay Wedding Trends & Considerations"

“Gay Wedding Trends & Considerations” was the topic of the panel discussion presented by the NGLCCNY. The panel was moderated by Bernadette Coveney Smith, President of 14 Stories. On the panel were Brian Silva of Marriage Equality New York, Jessy Wolvek of Fleurs NYC, Brian Pasalich of New York Life, Michael Watts and Kurt Kretzschmar of Cocktail Caterers.

The Seventh Annual Small Business Summit is New York’s premier event for small business owners.  Over 500 attendees networked with fellow decision-makers, learned cutting edge ideas during seminars and talked with sponsors offering the newest products & services available to help their small businesses succeed.

Jeffrey Holmes Photography began capturing the spirit and energy of the event attendees, speakers and sponsors with his dynamic images at the first Small Business Summit in 2006. Upon viewing the images, Co-organizer Marian Banker, President of Prime Strategies remarked, “thanks so much for these wonderful pictures. They really do capture the essence of the day… everything looked great…as always.”  Grant Wickes, Vice President of Business Development for Wasp Barcode Technologies, was a summit speaker and sponsor. Grant commented,  “Jeffrey does great stuff!”  The original organizer of the Small Business Summit, Ramon Ray, provided this appreciation of event photographer Jeffrey Holmes.

Ramon Ray's enthusiasm commands the attention of participants during The 7th Annual Small Business Summit in New York. (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

“I have worked with Jeffrey for many years to shoot photos for my events. One year, in an attempt to “differentiate” I used another photographer. The photos were focused and looked great – but there was NO LIFE. There was NO context. Jeff’s photos not only LOOK great (technically) but they bring to life whatever the subject he’s shooting and almost like magic the context around it. I know that when Jeffrey’s shooting every photo tells a story. I also like Jeffrey’s suggestions of how to make the background of the photos better – suggesting moving this, or adding light here and etc. He’s simply awesome and great to work with.”

Marian Banker, Co-Organizer and Host of The Seventh Annual Small Business Summit (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

“The Summit brought together hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs and vendors from around the tri-state area together to discuss their challenges and share their insights for growth,” says Marian Banker MBA, Co-Producer of the Summit and President of Prime Strategies. “While other events are downsizing, we moved to a larger space this year to accommodate our attendees and exhibitors and are thankful for companies such as Dell and Microsoft for their continued involvement as exhibitors and speakers.”

The Small Business Summit was held March 6, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.. Informative workshops and panels relating to small business. Topics to be addressed included: Real Businesses Getting Real Results with Technology; How Orabrush Used Creativity to Boost Sales, Inner Game of Prospecting; How to Overcome Sales Call Reluctance; 30 Minutes, 15 Tips – Success Tips from Local Gurus; and so much more. In addition, one small business will win the Summit’s Small Business Strategy Award.

“Our sponsors, exhibitors and speakers are all dedicated to helping small and medium size businesses thrive,” adds Banker “This year’s Summit gave our partners the opportunity to connect with more businesses while showing them how attainable the latest technology can be for their own unique business.” “With a growing roster of speakers which currently include, Scott Hintz of Tripit, Austin Craig of Orabrush, and Connie Kadansky of Exceptional Sales, attendees will find the information inspiring and relevant to their business,” adds Ramon Ray, Co Producer of the Summit and editor of SmallBizTechnology.com.

Here is the complete program of presentations and panel discussions along with bio’s featured at this year’s Summit.

Moderator Rhonda Abrams (L) and Laurie McCabe (R) (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

Beyond the Hype — What You Need to Know About the Cloud. Online software, or cloud computing is no longer a fad. It is proven critical for business success. This panel addressed understanding why it’s important, what to watch out for and how to leverage online software for your business. Moderated by Rhonda Abrams, USA Today columnist, small business advocate and adviser, and included panelists Laurie McCabe, Analyst at SMB Group; Bill Odell with Dell Cloud Business Applications; and Kathleen Q. Fable of Quinn Fable Advertising.

A presentation by Austin Craig of Orabrush entitled How Orabrush Used Social Media & Creativity To Attract Walmart’s Attention. Orabrush used creative video, low cost advertising and a boat load of creativity to astronomically grow their business. Austin Craig, Orabrush tells you the secrets of their success.

Austin Craig of Orabrush (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

In addition to being the first spokesman for Orabrush, Austin Craig has been part of the creative marketing team there since the company’s launch over two years ago. His entrepreneurial streak began at college (Brigham Young University, Go Cougars!) when he designed and sold shirts featuring the University President. After selling almost 30,000 shirts, he decided it was time to get back to school and earn a degree from the University.

Wendi Caplan-Carroll, Constant Contact presented Tech Tools for Online Marketing. Wendi spoke on how to use specific tools and strategies to get more customers and keep the ones you have.

Grant Wickes of Wasp Barcode Technologies (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

Gizmos and Gadgets for Ultimate Business Productivityby Grant Wickes of Wasp Barcode Technologies, is a lover of tech productivity  gadgets unveils his tool bag of goodies for business productivity.

Grant Wickes excels at helping companies understand market opportunities, develop products and craft marketing programs that drive profitable growth and business value. As an advocate of customer-focused activities, Wickes enjoys interacting with customers, partners and prospects in the pursuit of mutually beneficial solutions. 

Lessons from a Customer Service Ninja. Without customers you have no business. Without great customer service you’ll have few repeat customers. The session revealed the strategies and insights of how Bonobos endears themselves to customers. John Rote of Bonobos was joined by Bill O’Dell of Dell Cloud Business Applications for discussion and Q&A on customer service.

Jennifer Walzer, CEO of BUMI (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

Strategy Award. BUMI (Backup My Info!), the premium provider of off‐site managed online backup and recovery solutions for small to mid‐sized businesses is the winner of the 2012 Small Business Strategy Award.  Now in its third year, the Small Business Strategy Award recognizes businesses that have developed and executed a strategy producing significant growth in profits or market share in their industry. “With technology helping businesses operate more efficiently, backup and recovery services are more vital than ever,” says Marian Banker, MBA, Co‐Producer of the Small Business Summit and President of Prime Strategies. “BUMI’s approach to delivering best‐of‐breed backup and recovery solutions exclusively for premium professional service firms, combined with superior customer service exemplified why they should be this year’s winner. Every business needs a great product but having a complete solution including how they uniquely service their customers, is the key differentiator,” adds Banker. “We feel honored to be presented with the 2012 Small Business Strategy Award,” said Jennifer Walzer, CEO of BUMI. “This award emphasizes how strategy combined with execution of that strategy can enable small businesses to prosper and overcome the many challenges faced every day. BUMI is proud to be recognized for our achievement, and I thank my team for their tremendous execution of our company strategy of taking care of professional service firms’ data.”

John Lawson of ColderICE. (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

Lunch Keynote: Persuading Customers To Buy by Leveraging Their Friend.  It was a stimulating, energized and informative presentation by John Lawson of ColderICE. He shared how to use social media to persuade customers to buy from you through the influence of their friends.

Listening to Customers and Hiring Smarter: A Lesson in Success presented by Scott Hintz of Tripit. Scott Hintz has built and sold two successful companies including Hotwire.. He spoke about the secret sauce of his success. Humility being one of the secrets.

What We’ve Learned from Small Businessesincluded Loren Feldman with the New York Times and Gene Marks of Marks Group and a NY Times writer. The discussion topics highlighted the best practices and challenges from the pages of New York Times small business coverage.

Loren Feldman with the New York Times (Photo: Jeffrey Holmes)

Inner Game of Prospecting: How to Overcome Sales Call Reluctance. Connie Kadansky of Exceptional Sales Performance She spoke about how selling is not easy, in fact its one of the hardest things for many business owners. This session focused on how to sell more with the benefit of even liking sales. Then Shannon Duffy of Salesforce.com presented Tools for Sales Success. Once you know how to sell it’s important to use the right tools. This session provided an overview of the top tools available to boost sales.

Complete details of the event can be found at the website http://www.smallbiztechsummit.com.

Jeffrey Holmes Photogaphy, a noted New York Corporate Event photographer.  “The key was to find compelling  angles to add to the artful images.

, Designer showing this year include: Vassilis Zoulias, Jetset collective by Farasha, Megla M, Teresa Rosati, Carlos Luna, Baruni, Rebeca Tiago, Antonia Paris, Riza Manalo, Castro-Rojas, Danilo Gabrielli, and Seckin Ilker.

The shows were celebrated at YOTEL in New York with an after party where the female quartet, JADA, performed.

NOLCHA Fashion Week 2012 NYC. New York’s Leading Showcase for Independent Fashion. Nolcha Fashion Week is a leading award winning event for independent fashion designers to showcase

Creating artful images of NOLCHA Fashion Week 2012 NYC. captured by Jeffrey Holmes, www.JeffreyHolmes.com

their collections to a global audience of press, retailers, stylists and industry influencers. Over the past five years Nolcha Fashion Week has established itself as a platform of discovery promoting innovative fashion designers through runway shows and exhibition during New York Fashion Week. Nolcha fashion week is officially listed with Mercedes Benz as the two recognized Fashion Weeks by New York City Economic Development Corporation; offering a range of cost effective options to increase designers recognition and develop their business. The successful collaborative showcase has been featured in Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Lucky, NBC, MTV and Forbes

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce presented a panel discussion that focused on the role of the business community in pressuring the legislature to approve same-sex marriage.The event was held at the new Met Life Conference Center at 6th Avenue and 42nd Street. The event was photographed by event photographer new york, Jeffrey Holmes Photography for the MCC.  The business community has a stake in this issue because of employee benefits, payroll taxes, talent retention and money will be made when tens of thousands of couples marry here in New York City rather than traveling to other states.

“Economic Impact of Gay Marriage” took place on Monday, March 14, 2011 and was organized by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, hosted by MetLife and sponsored by Bloomingdale’s, Gay City News, Microsoft and the Riverside Church.T

People have figured out that when permitted to marry, the gay community will be more likely to hire a realtor, purchase a home, buy insurance, travel on a honeymoon and use the services of a caterer, wedding planner, florist, and all of the other services engaged by traditional couples getting married.

Panel members included Jeremiah Frei-Pearson, Straight Allies Coordinator, Marriage Equality New York; George Carrancho, National Sales & Marketing Manager for LGBT Community, American Airlines; M. V. Lee Badgett, Research Director, Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law & Public Policy at UCLA School of Law; Rachel B. Tiven, Executive Director, Immigration Equality; Paul Schindler (Moderator), Editor-in-Chief, Gay City News; Tracy Teofilo, President, Prestigious & Elegant Events, Inc; and, Jeffrey Hollander, JD, Assistant Vice President Advanced Markets Group, MetLife.

Photographer Note on the venue: MetLife Conference Center is a great venue for medium size conferences. The lighting is ideal. The room features a large projection screen. While a the screen could have been positioned lower on the back wall, it d

oes provide for great viewing. The stage is lighted with with floods high above in the ceiling (perhaps a bit too much of an angle as to provide an uncomplimentary image) fill flash is a must. The venue provides a wonderful view of Bryant Park. Catering of the events is available.

A group portrait of the London Fischer Law Firm by Jeffrey Holmes, Portrait photographer New York.

London Fischer Law firm selects Jeffrey Holmes, New York Portrait Photographer for Leading Attorneys Portrait.

The London Fischer Law Firm, located in New York’s Financial District, called upon New York corporate photographer, Jeffrey Holmes to create a new firm group portrait. The portrait is to be used for a magazine article about outstanding lawyers in the U.S. The best location was the courtyard in front of the building.

I used a single Quantum T5d flash head powered by a Quantum Turbo 2×2 battery. I do love these strobes for location shoots. After a couple of Photoshop head swaps, the firm approved the image and it was on to publication.

London Fischer LLP is an international leader in the concentrated disciplines of insurance and related litigation. Clients include  many of the world’s largest corporations and most prestigious insurance groups. Over the years, the Firm has been involved in the most significant litigation affecting the insurance industry and those other specialized industries in which we concentrate.

They have a national practice includes insurance coverage, and specialized litigation pertinent to all areas of primary and excess insurance and reinsurance. Practice groups specialize in litigation affecting the following industries and disciplines: Construction and Real Estate; Directors and Officers Liability; Employment Practices Liability; Marine Cargo and Hull Interests; Mold, Toxic Tort and Environmental Liabilities; Municipal Liability; Product Liability; Professional Liability; Property Losses; Subrogation; Transportation Liabilities

London Fischer maintains a National Trial and Appellate Practice. They are geographically positioned to handle matters throughout the United States. Offices in New York City, Irvine, California and New Jersey.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at the Essex House in New York City.

Interest in alternative investments has never been stronger. The path to this industry is not always clear. SEO’s Annual Alternative Investments Conference highlights professional and business opportunities as well as provides individuals from underrepresented groups within financial services exposure to the leading voices in the alternative investments arena. The Benefits of Participation: Learn more about career paths and industry trend

SEO 2nd Annual Alternative Investment Conference (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

s within the alternative investment arena; Network with experienced professionals from various segments of the industry and Share insights and dialogue with aspiring and experienced finance professionals.

Tim Weld, CFA, Director, Parish Capital Advisors moderates panel at the SEO 2nd Annual Alternative Investment Conference. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

The event organizers engaged the services of Jeffrey Holmes Photography. Jeffrey has been the photographer of choice for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity since 2007. His dynamic images grace the pages of the SEO’s collateral materials and reports.

During this day long event, industry discussions were facilitated by leaders who focused on the private equity and hedge funds sector, providing insight to rising professionals with valuable information. Institutional investors, fund managers, consulting firms, and other providers within the alternative investments industry foster the growth and knowledge of the next generation of leaders by participating as panelists and supporters of the conference.

The conference was organized by Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO). The conference is part of SEO’s Alternative Investments Program, which includes the Alternative Investment Fellowship Program (AIFP) which was launched in 2009. The AIFP is an educational program for young professionals from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the alternative investments industry. The AIFP combines workshops, training and mentoring to strengthen Fellows as candidates for positions in private equity and other alternative investments. The program also improves Fellows’ skills as analysts by exploring strategic decisions involved in transactions from the client’s point of view. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG partner with SEO for the AIFP. Most recently, Audax Group joined with SEO to identify talent for Audax’s undergraduate summer analyst program, providing another pathway for talented individuals to gain access to the industry.

Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Transportation Transformation Series: Opening Reception at Tesla Showroom in New York by Event Photographer New York Jeffrey Holmes Photography.

This exciting series was presented by MCC’s Green Business Committee, MCC’s Tech and Innovation Committee and E3NYC at Tesla Motors New York, 511 West 25th Street, New York, NY on May 11, 2011. The event was photographed by event photographer New York’s Jeffrey Holmes Photography. Jeffrey has served as the MCC photographer for the past 10 years. This event offered a picture perfect show room. Great branding, incredible cars and interesting speakers. 

Michael Sexton, Tesla Motors addresses guests at the MCC Transportation Transformation Series: Opening Reception at Tesla Showroom. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce offers the business community a variety of perspectives of the direction of clean transportation in New York and beyond. They will explore specific modes such as electric vehicles, carshare (electric and not), bikeshare, water ferry and other innovative modes.  They also looked at opportunities generated by new clean transit centers, and examined the opportunities all of this offers both local business and the local economy. The series began with a reception at Tesla Motors New York showroom.  Guests were invited to learn about these game-changing concepts that will very soon be redefining transportation and meet the people at the forefront of the clean transportation movement.

Willem Houck, ParkPod speaking at MCC Transportation Transformation Series: Opening Reception at Tesla Showroom held May 11, 2011 at Tesla Motors New York. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

The Tesla Roadster is the world’s only automobile that offers super-car performance without super-car emissions. Engineered for performance and efficiency, it accelerates from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, delivering 295 lbs-ft. of torque without using a drop of gasoline. The Roadster travels 245 miles on a single charge and plugs into nearly any outlet in the world – allowing for uncompromisable electric driving.

The event was sponsored by Con Edison Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs for sponsoring the MCC Green Business Committee for 2011. For more information on how you can earn cash rebates and incentives for your buildings’ energy efficiency upgrades, contact the Con Edison Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Program office at (877) 797-6347 or visit their website www.conEd.com/energysavings.

For further information about the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC) or the MCC Green Business Committee, please contact: Laura Bucko, Vice President/Director of Communications, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. 212-473-7875 or www.manhattancc.org or www.manhattanccgreen.org. Established in 1920!

African dignitaries and investment leaders came together at Institutional Investor's Africa Investment Forum held April 11-12, 2011 at the Metropolitan Club in New York. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

Event Photographer in New York, Jeffrey Holmes was Institutional Investor’s choice to photograph the Africa Investment Forum as it has for their international forums since 2004. This long standing relationship demonstrates the confidence they have in his ability to consistently get the images Institutional Investor Events needs for promotional and media release purposes. This assignment was particularly challenging as it was held in the West Room of the Metropolitan Club, New York. While it is a gorgeously rich room featuring a stunning ceiling mural. This is a very dark venue. Added to the challenge was the dark skin tones. Limited light includes 4 windows on the west wall and only eight dimly lighted wall sconces. Generally stage lighting is provided by 2 spots for video recording. The wide f-stop range between stage and audience called upon all of Jeffrey’s talents in order to make great event photography. His camera of choice is the Canon 5D Mark2 with its minimum noise at higher ISO setting and 1Ds Mark2 for its 8 frames per second capture rate.

African dignitaries and investment leaders came together at Institutional Investor's Africa Investment Forum held April 11-12, 2011 at the Metropolitan Club in New York. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

The event was eye opening as to the future of the continent. Africa is making significant strides in focusing global investors’ interest on the opportunities there. Africa’s new vision of its future highlights the potential that can be found in these nations while addressing many of the obstacles that have hindered foreign investment in the past. This long-term, comprehensive strategy for increasing foreign investments means applying the lessons learned and building on the comparative strengths of the region’s markets and key sectors. In response to these steps forward as well as significantly increased interest among US institutions, Institutional Investor’s Africa Investment Conference is the premier, Africa-focused event in the US in 2011. With the theme, The Gateway to Opportunity, the event embodied Africa’s vision for sustained economic development driven by targeted, informed foreign investment. The Conference was the ideal forum for the necessary exchange of information among senior decision-makers from the region’s governmental and regulatory authorities, executives from Africa’s leading corporations, and the US institutional investors who are interested in learning more about the opportunities in Africa. The Africa Investment Conference supplied investors with the macro information they require about governmental, regulatory, and economic policies coupled with intensive examinations of key sector initiatives, including: Capital markets and banking developments; Tax and legal reforms; Monetary and fiscal policies; Infrastructure public-private partnerships; and Project and leverage financing opportunities in oil and gas, telecoms, transportation, tourism, health services, metals/mining, agribusiness, renewable energy, and power.

This years program included presentations from key government officials and regulators, panel discussions among corporate executives and large US investors, and case studies focusing on some of the region’s more notable achievements. The event photography of Jeffrey Holmes is included in this post with more images available in the Institutional Investor Africa Investment Forum gallery.

Institutional Investor's 9th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards Dinner held at Cipriani Wall Street. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

Institutional Investor magazine’s 9th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards, recognizes the hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and industry associated investment consultants, endowments, and foundations. They are presented these awards for their innovation, achievements and contributions to the Hedge Fund industry in the past year of 2010.

The event was photographed for Institutional Investor by Jeffrey Holmes, a premier event photographer New York. Institutional Investor has relied upon Mr. Holmes photography services for the past 6 years. “He captures the story of the event. Jeffrey always works the branding of the sponsors into images. We get the shots we need for press and PR as well as promotional materials for next years event. That is why we have use Jeffrey Holmes Photography for all of our awards dinners.”

Award nominees were honored and winners were announced and awarded at a dinner and awards ceremony at the Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The event emcee was David Faber, CNBC

Institutional Investor's 9th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards Dinner held at Cipriani Wall Street. (Jeffrey Holmes/JeffreyHolmes.com)

Anchor and Reporter (and Institutional Investor alumni). An Emmy, Peabody, Dupont, Loeb award winner and New York Times bestselling author, David Faber is host of CNBC’s “The Strategy Session” (M-F, 12PM ET). Faber is also an anchor and co-producer of CNBC’s acclaimed original documentaries and long-form programming as well as a contributor to CNBC’s Squawk on the Street.

Bruce Kovner, Founder and Chairman, Caxton Associates was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jeffrey Scott, Chief Investment Officer, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. was the Outstanding Contribution Award Recipient:

Here are Hedge Fund Management Award Categories & Nominees

• Institutional Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Appaloosa Management -WINNER, BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates , CQS , Paulson & Co.

• Emerging Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Hutchin Hill Capital -WINNER, Astenbeck Capital Management, Grant Capital Partners, Senrigan Capital Group, Stelliam Investment Management

• Credit-Focused Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Fortress Investment Group -WINNER, Appaloosa Management, Centerbridge Partners,
• Marathon Asset Management, VR Capital Group

• Equity-Focused Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Glenview Capital Management -WINNER, NorthStar Capital Funds, Omega Advisors, SAC Capital Advisors, Visium Asset Management

• Event-Driven Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Third Point -WINNER, Paulson & Co., Perry Capital, Pershing Square Capital, Management, ValueAct Capital

• Macro-Focused Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Bridgewater Associates -WINNER, AQR Capital Management, BlueCrest Capital, Management, BlueGold Capital Management, BTG Pactual

• Multistrategy Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Millennium Management -WINNER, Carlson Capital, Hudson Bay Capital Management, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, Whitebox Advisors

• Relative Value Hedge Fund Firm of the Year
• Capula Investment Management -WINNER, BlueMountain Capital Management, Lazard Asset Management, Saba Capital Management, Structured Portfolio Management

• Large Fund of Hedge Funds Firm of the Year
• Prisma Capital Partners -WINNER, Blackstone Group, J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management, Edmond de Rothschild Holding SA, SkyBridge Capital

• Small Fund of Hedge Funds Firm of the Year
• PineBridge Investments -WINNER, Dorchester Capital Advisors, Magnitude Capital, Signet Group, Van Biema Value Partners

• Hedge Fund Seeder Firm of the Year
• Blackstone Group -WINNER, FRM Capital Advisors, PioneerPath Capital, Protégé Partners, Tiger Management Corp.

• Large Corporate Plan of the Year
• Boeing Co. -WINNER, AT&T Investment Management Corp., General Motors Asset Management Corp., Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

• Small Corporate Plan of the Year
• International Paper Co. -WINNER, Alcoa, Cargill, Royal Bank of Canada

• Large Endowment or Foundation of the Year
• University of Texas Investment Management Co. -WINNER, DUMAC, KAUST Investment Management Co., Ohio State University

• Small Endowment or Foundation of the Year
• Cook Children’s Health Care System -WINNER, Museum of Modern Art, New York University School of Law, Vassar College

• Large Public Plan of the Year
• Teacher Retirement System of Texas -WINNER, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System

• Small Public Plan of the Year
• San Diego County Employees Retirement Association -WINNER, Public Safety Personnel Retirement System of the State of Arizona, Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System, San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association

• Family Office of the Year
• Mount Vernon Investments -WINNER, Cooper Family Office, Fuqua Capital Corp., Willett Advisors

• Hedge Fund Consultant of the Year
• James Mnookin, Cambridge Associates -WINNER, Stephen Nesbitt, Cliffwater, John Shearman, Albourne America, James Vos, Aksia

BEF United Healthcare Empire Challenge at Hofstra University on June 21,2011. (Jeffrey Holmes)

This past summer’s annual Empire Challenge continued for the 5th year to enlist Jeffrey Holmes Photography as the lead event photographer for Boomer Esiason’s annual dual between the High School All-Stars of New York City versus Long Island students. The event starts off with an All-U-Can-Eat Tailgate Party sponsored by Outback Steakhouse for a fabulous buffet! This family-oriented event includes an expo and fun activities prior to the game, a raffle and, of course, the evening highlight is the Empire Challenge  football game pitting the best of New York City and Long Island.

While not the everyday sports photographer, I do have the experience of photographing a wide variety of events. A very versatile photographer in New York City. I most enjoy capturing the fun on the food swollen faces of the children. Their thrill on the slides.

The annual United Healthcare Empire Challenge highlights the brightest football talent from New York City and Long Island in support of the Boomer Esiason Foundation and youth football in the New York metro area.  It’s held at James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University.

Check out a slideshow from the event below.

BEF Empire Challenge 2011 Gallery – Images by Jeffrey Holmes

What:  16th Annual United Healthcare Empire Challenge

When:  June 21, 2011

Where:  James M. Shuart Stadium, Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.

More Information: www.EmpireChallenge.com