Greg Kelly To Serve As Master Of Ceremonies At American Heart Association’s 22nd Annual Hamptons Heart Ball

Nearly 400 American Heart Association (AHA) supporters will join AHA for the 22nd Annual Hamptons Heart Ball on Saturday, June 23. Taking place at Southampton Arts Center, this year’s soiree will celebrate Dr. Apostolos K. Tassiopoulos, who will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award, and Audrey and Martin Gruss, the 2018 Humanitarians With Heart Honorees.

“The much anticipated 22nd Annual Hamptons Heart Ball is a great way to kick off the summer in the Hamptons as well as raise awareness and funds to help fight cardiovascular diseases and stroke,” said Barbara Poliwoda, Regional Director, American Heart Association.

The evening will commence at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner at 8 p.m. Then it’s time for the live auction, dessert, dancing, and more festive happenings at 8:45 p.m. The fun will continue during the after party, which will take place from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Greg Kelly will serve as this year’s Master of Ceremonies, while Jean Shafiroff and Chuck Simonton, M.D. are Event Co-Chairs.

Proceeds from the event will support AHA’s mission of fighting to prevent, treat and defeat heart disease and stroke- which are America’s number 1 and number 5 killers – by funding cutting-edge research, presenting vital public and professional educational programs, and advocating to protect public health.

Audrey Gruss is President of The Audrey and Martin Gruss Foundation, which she founded 30-years ago with her husband Martin to champion charitable endeavors in the cultural arts, education and medical research. In addition to the Foundation, she is also a board member of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, The FIT Couture Council and The Byrd Hoffman Watermill Center, as well as a Director Emeriti of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and a former Board member of The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival. She is on the Chairman’s Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a Patron of The Guggenheim Museum.

Martin D. Gruss, a Senior Manager of Gruss & Co., Inc., is the Chairman of the Audrey and Martin Gruss Foundation and the Gruss Life Monument Foundation. He is also Trustee Emeritus of the Lawrenceville School, and former member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Apostolos K. Tassiopoulos, Department Chair of Vascular Surgery at Stony Brook and Director of the Heart and Stroke Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, is a professor of surgery and vice chair for quality and outcomes. Additionally, he serves as chief of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, director of the Stony Brook Vascular Center, co-director of the Aortic Center, and director of the Surgical Skills Center.

Admission begins at $600.

Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton. For more information, visit ahalongisland.org.