National Comedian Proves Laughter (and Determined Fundraising) is the Best Medicine in This River Oaks Night

What: The Broach Foundation for Brain Research annual dinner

Where: River Oaks Country Club

PC Moment: Nationally touring comedian Mike Birbiglia lived up to his reputation by keeping the throng of more than 400 laughing throughout most of the Broach Foundation’s 10th annual Stand Up for Cancer gala. With the thought being that laughter is the best medicine, Birbiglia presented a full comedy show following the VIP cocktail hour and dinner.

Before passing away in 2013 from an aggressive form of brain cancer, James Broach and his wife Jamie Broach (now Byrd) created the foundation in order to raise monies for under-funded research in the arena of brain cancers. To date, the foundation has raised $6 million.

“James was truly an inspiration to all those who knew him. Though he knew the research would not come in time to help him, he wanted to find a way to help others,” Broach Byrd says. “Research requires resources, and he knew the faster we can fund promising novel research projects, the faster we will find a cure for this disease.”

As the foundation website points out, fewer than 10 percent of grants for brain cancer research are funded. To be eligible for NIH grants, research institutions like the MD Anderson Cancer Center Brain Tumor Research Program have to conduct the proposed project’s initial research data first. “This crucial start-up research and work must be sponsored by private funds to make subsequent NIH funding possible,” the Broach Foundation website notes.

PC Seen: Jeff Byrd, Lexi and Mike Marek, Luvi and Carlos Wheelock, Leticia and Steve Trauber, Chuck Yates, Jan Bress, Carla and Cole Dawson, Judy and Bill Falconer, Dennis Black, Andrea Durkin, and Jamie and James Broach’s three sons — Harrison, Oliver and Parker.