This year, parents of 16,000 children in the U.S. will hear the words: “Your child has cancer.” One in five of those children diagnosed will not survive. For more than 50 years, St. Jude has changed the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer, helping push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent. As cancer remains the No. 1 cause of death from disease in children under the age of 14, there is much work left to be done. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital won’t stop until no child dies from cancer.
But St. Jude can’t do it alone. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is amplifying its efforts to raise awareness and funds for research and treatment in various ways. One way people can join the fight is by participating in one of 61 St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer events across the country. Richard (Rick) Shadyac Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will be available for live interviews and joined by the mother of a St. Jude patient.
Richard (Rick) Shadyac Jr. was named President and Chief Executive Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in September 2009. His father was one of the first members of the Board when the late entertainer Danny Thomas opened St. Jude in 1962 and Rick has continued that tradition, supporting St. Jude his entire life as a volunteer, board member and today as president and CEO. It will cost nearly $1 billion to operate St. Jude this year and ALSAC is responsible for raising more than 75 percent of those funds. Today, St. Jude is the No. 1 health not-for-profit in the U.S. and one of the preferred companies in the U.S. where millennials want to work.
CELESTINO DRAGO – EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER OF DRAGO CENTRO, IL PASTAIO, DRAGO BAKERY, DRAGO CATERING – NEWEST LOCATION AT THE PETERSON AUTO MUSEUM
Chef Celestino Drago’s contemporary Italian masterpiece, Drago Centro offers innovative twists to authentic Italian dishes. Drago Centro has become one of the foremost dining establishments in Downtown Los Angeles, featuring stunning contemporary design, the 9,500 square-foot restaurant boasts an open kitchen, a private dining rooms, and a demonstration kitchen housed in what was once the vault of City National Bank. At Drago Centro, located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, Chef Celestino Drago is giving his classic Italian techniques a contemporary flair. The lunch and dinner menus at Drago Centro feature a wide range of options, from hand-cranked pastas, savory steaks and elegant desserts sure to end the meal on a sweet note.
ABOUT CHEF CELESTINO DRAGO
Chef Celestino Drago has played an integral role in the ever-evolving dining scene in Los Angeles for over two decades. Originally from Sicily, Celestino is regarded as one of the pioneers of Italian Cuisine in the US and has become one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated chefs, with honors ranging from Food & Wine Magazine selecting him as a “Best New Chef” to being an invited guest chef at the James Beard House in New York on multiple occasions and is the current Food Fare 2014 Chef of the Year.
From his affable demeanor to his inventive and delicious takes on Italian fare, Chef Celestino Drago has helped lay the groundwork for Italian cuisine in America today.
Before launching his restaurant empire in Southern California, Celestino attended mechanical school in Italy while simultaneously working at a restaurant in the city of Pisa called Pierino. It was there that realized he “loved everything about the restaurant business.” Recognizing his culinary potential, the chef at Pierino worked closely with him and, in just three short years, Celestino took over as chef.
In 1979, Celestino was hired as chef at Los Angeles Italian restaurant, Orlando Orsini, prompting him to leave Italy to embark upon a new culinary career in the United States. After working at Orlando Orsini, Celestino worked at Spectrum Foods before opening his first restaurant, Celestino, in Beverly Hills. After receiving high praise, he was encouraged to open another restaurant, Drago, on bustling Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Drago was met with rave reviews and was consistently rated in the top 5 Italian restaurants in Los Angeles before it closed in 2011. It was Celestino's success at Drago that led to his subsequent ventures, which include his artisanal bakery, originally known as “Dolce Forno” now re-branded under the name Drago Bakery, the more upscale eatery, IL Pastaio in Beverly Hills, and Drago Centro in the heart of the Financial District in Downtown Los Angeles, as well as Drago Special Events & Catering which brings his highly sought-after fine dining experience directly into the home or private event setting. Celestino reached for the stars with his highly successful Drago Air Catering venture, which supplies prepared foods for several major airlines and private charters.
Celestino’s cuisine is deeply rooted in his childhood home in Sicily and since his arrival in Los Angeles he has been delighting diners with dishes that hearken back to his home country dishes imbued with the heritage and authenticity of true Italian fare. Celestino has been touted as one of the Best Italian Chefs in the United States by Bon Appétit and Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic S. Irene Virbila has called Celestino, "one of the best-known Italian restaurateurs in Southern California."
WWW.CELESTINODRAGO.COM
WWW.DRAGOCENTRO.COM
STEVE EVANS – THE MOVIE GUYGREAT MOVIES OPENING THIS WEEKEND AND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS AND HOPES. FIND OUT WHAT MOVIES ARE WORTH YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. GET SET FOR THE WEEKEND.