“It was never my intention to start one of the largest-run minority foundations in the United States or to defeat a whole bunch of stereotypes, but I’m not afraid.” – Logan Ryan
BY JANET MERCEL
Dog and kitten handlers stand on the steps outside the Plaza Hotel. An autumnal orchid arrangement that feels at least seven feet tall sits at the entrance.
Upstairs, the glittering crystal ballroom is filled with New York philanthropy’s vanguard for the ASPCA Humane Awards Luncheon: Arriana and Dixon Boardman, Serena Boardman, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, Aerin Lauder, Jill Rappaport, Paul Arnhold, Princess Victoria Elisabeth of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Renee Rockefeller, Elaine Langone and Muffie Potter Aston, to name a few.
Legendary WNBC anchor Chuck Scarborough presents the awards while my tablemates regale me with gossip from the animal welfare circuit. Last year’s spectacle: a PETA protestor in a plush pig costume stormed the lunch and was unceremoniously escorted out and arrested on the steps (this explains the security outside the hotel). One guest says, “We still don’t know how he smuggled the whole thing in.”
No such drama this year. The main event is the Public Service Award recipient, NFL star Logan Ryan – the former Patriots defensive back and two-time Super Bowl winner who as a Tennessee Titan, intercepted the last pass Tom Brady ever threw as a Patriot. Ryan is being honored for founding RARF, an animal welfare initiative, with his wife, Ashley. “It was never my intention to start one of the largest-run minority foundations in the United States,” Ryan tells the crowd, “Or to defeat a whole bunch of stereotypes, but I’m not afraid.”
“I take a lot of pride in being a Black man in this space,” Ryan continues, addressing the room where most are still drying their eyes after the ASPCA’s rescue videos. “I’ve obviously tackled the image of people making poor decisions within the NFL, but I also think we should highlight people like myself, who constantly made the right decisions.”
