The evening’s formal proceedings began with a march in by the Stewart Pipe Band, followed by representatives of the Veneral Order of St. John and the members of the top table, HM Consul General Priya Guha, Consul General of Australia, Chris Oldfield and his wife Penny; Consul General of Singapore, Chris Cheang and his wife Grazyna, Rose Hall, Operations Director, Invictus Games Foundation, British Veteran Nathan Cumberland, British Veteran, Louisa Walker, Kozo and Kathleen Kimura.

HM Consul General Priya Guha gave the loyal toast to HM Queen Elizabeth.Emcee Stuart Bagshaw welcomed all present and introduced members of the SF Consular Corps present (Australia, Norway, Singapore, Ukraine, Romania and Latvia), Invictus Games Foundation and its representatives, Rose Hall, Nathan Cumberland and Louisa Walker, and Mark Chandler from SF Mayor’s Office.Stuart introduced The Venerable Malcolm Manson who gave the invocation.

A standing ovation was given to British Veterans Nathan Cumberland and Louisa Walker before and following their moving remarks.

Our thanks go to HM Consul General Priya Guha, Malcolm Manson for their participation and support.Thanks to Stuart Bagshaw for being Master of Ceremonies. Thanks to Annabel Lavielle, Executive Director of the British Benevolent Society (BBS) for establishing a relationship with the Invictus Games Foundation.Very special thanks to our sponsors, Norwegian Airways for flying Nathan and Louisa from Gatwick to Oakland, and to the Fairmont Hotel, for hosting their stay as well as for their amazing cooperation and consideration with the Ball.Also Broadbent Selections for donating 30 cases of wine; Andy McKay, 20/20 Productions, Venturexcel, Fred Rutledge, India Hicks and Bay Area Cabaret.

The Ball Committee, comprising Paul Llewellyn, Kathleen Kimura, Karen Thomas, Jo Healey, Annabel Lavielle, Andy McKay, Francesca McCrossan, Fred Rutledge and Amanda Jarvis, representing the BABC, BBS and St. Andrews Society of San Francisco, worked collaboratively to produce the first ever shared event among our organizations.

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